Introduce the Weekend League Club Boasting 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a stellar experienced team that have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a raft of ex- pro players who have performed at the elite tier of club and international soccer as you pursue further trophies.

One Greater Manchester team fields an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League footballers in their active roster.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are based in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Tier.

Their lineup this season includes 9 former Premier League players, with a combined nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

This elite squad also includes over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 global appearances.

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

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

The squad for this campaign also features former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight footballers have won fifteen major honors and moved for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four goals

Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also made his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

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

"If you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans 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 having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at defender.

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

"The running is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

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

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

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

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got over 60 England caps.

"Our side held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Division championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Isaiah Rose
Isaiah Rose

Elena is a food enthusiast and journalist based in Amsterdam, specializing in global cuisine and budget-friendly dining.