Introduce this Sunday League Team With Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Appearances

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

What can you enhance a stellar veteran team that have secured consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two matches?

Sign a group of ex- professionals that have competed at the elite tier of club and international soccer as you target additional silverware.

A Greater Manchester team boasts an amateur vets squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 International Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Division.

Their roster this season boasts nine former top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 Premier League appearances.

The star-studded squad also contains over 220 top division goals and 325 global appearances.

They include one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for the team in their most recent home game against defending title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed fifteen significant trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish appearances, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team during pre-season this summer through close friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 top-flight games for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The people who come and see are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

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

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

'Surreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Division with 3 wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"We held our own for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored 1-0 up and had a

Brian Foley
Brian Foley

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering the iGaming industry across North America and Europe.