Discover the Weekend League Club Featuring 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans during a six-two victory versus their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a excellent experienced side who have won back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a collection of ex- pro players who have played at the highest tier of club football and international football as you target further trophies.

A Greater Manchester team fields an amateur vets team with 9 ex- top-flight footballers in their current roster.

222 Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are based in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Division.

Their lineup this campaign boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

The star-studded team also boasts 222 Premier League scores and over 320 global caps.

The squad include one forward, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for the team in their most recent home game versus defending title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

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

Together, the former Premier League players have secured fifteen significant honors and moved for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Famous Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Irish appearances, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team in pre-season this summer through close mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"After that he told me we were facing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"The spectators who turn up and see are pleased and to make a moment if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he made his first game at full-back.

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

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"The movement is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

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

Unreal Experience

In addition to the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in over two hundred Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

"I think I was a bit starstruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Heskey came on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"We held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Antonio Payne
Antonio Payne

A lifestyle writer passionate about wellness trends and creative living, sharing insights to inspire everyday joy.