Meet the Sunday Division Squad Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

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

What do you boost a excellent experienced team that have won back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players who have played at the elite tier of club and international football as you target further honors.

One Greater Manchester club has an non-professional veterans squad with 9 former top-flight footballers in their current squad.

222 Top Division Goals, 325 International Appearances

The team Vets Over-35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Premier Division.

The squad list this season includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

This high-profile roster also includes over 220 top division scores and over 320 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this campaign also features former pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have claimed 15 significant trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish appearances, netting four goals

Ireland began playing for the team during pre-season this season through close friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still attends their home games, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for the club from 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"Those spectators who turn up and see are pleased and to make someone's day if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

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

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

"I think I was a bit awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

"Our group really have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans team, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Jeremy Daniels
Jeremy Daniels

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in tech consulting and innovation management across European markets.

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