Discover this Weekend League Club Featuring 1,800 English Top Division Games

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

How can you improve a stellar experienced side who have won consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty victories from 32 matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals who have competed at the highest tier of club football and global soccer as you target more silverware.

A Greater Manchester team fields an amateur vets team with nine ex- Premier League players in their active squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

The squad list this campaign includes 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite matches.

This elite roster also includes 222 Premier League goals and 325 global caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this season also includes ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League players have claimed 15 significant honors and moved for combined transfer sums of about £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring 4 goals

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who come and see are pleased and to give someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

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

"It's a little unusual but then, I love running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"That movement is what I'm seeking. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with three wins from three and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

"I think I was a little starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a good twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"We literally have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets side, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Brandi Christensen
Brandi Christensen

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist passionate about exploring how emerging technologies shape everyday experiences and future possibilities.