Discover the Weekend League Club With 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

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

What do you enhance a outstanding experienced side who have won back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double with 30 victories from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a collection of ex- pro players who have performed at the elite tier of club and global football as you target additional silverware.

One Manchester club boasts an amateur veterans team with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their present roster.

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

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

The squad list this campaign boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight games.

This star-studded squad also boasts 222 top division goals and over 320 international caps.

The squad include one forward, who scored thirty-seven scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their last home game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

The squad for this season also features ex- pros such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have claimed fifteen significant honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

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

"When you still love football and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those people who come and see are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"It's a little unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not staying' 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
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

In addition to the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

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

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over 200 top-flight games.

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

"I felt I was a little awestruck playing against him to be honest.

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

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

"Our group literally have not ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular fellas.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Premier Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Deborah Rodriguez
Deborah Rodriguez

A seasoned travel writer and photographer with a passion for uncovering hidden gems and sharing authentic stories from around the globe.