Meet the Sunday League Club With 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two win against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a excellent veteran team who have won back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double with thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Bring in a raft of ex- pro players that have competed at the highest tier of club and global football as you aim for more trophies.

A Manchester side has an amateur veterans squad with nine former top-flight players in their active squad.

222 Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

The team Vets Over 35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Tier.

The roster this campaign boasts 9 former top-flight footballers, with a total 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This elite squad also includes over 220 top division goals and over 320 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match against reigning title holders their rivals and netted all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also features former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big honors and moved for combined transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Ireland began playing for the side during preseason this summer through close mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to make a day if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"It's a little unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

'Surreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"Our side held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of normal guys.

"Now we can't wait for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

William Davis
William Davis

Liam is a seasoned content creator with a passion for tech and lifestyle trends, sharing insights from Amsterdam.