Discover this Weekend League Club Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a stellar veteran side who have won back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from 32 games?

Sign a group of ex- pro players that have competed at the elite tier of club football and international football as you aim for additional trophies.

A Manchester team boasts an amateur veterans squad with 9 former Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Tier.

Their lineup this season features 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 top-flight matches.

This star-studded team also includes 222 top division scores and 325 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who netted 37 scores in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have won fifteen major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish caps, netting 4 scores

Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this summer through good friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

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

"If you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender.

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

"That running is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to the forward's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with 3 wins from three and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Heskey got on and he's got over 60 English appearances.

"We competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys.

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

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

William Mckay
William Mckay

A seasoned journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that matter, specializing in global affairs and cultural trends.