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

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans in a 6-2 win versus their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you enhance a outstanding veteran side who have secured back-to-back titles, including a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a collection of former professionals who have performed at the top tier of club football and international soccer as you target further silverware.

One Manchester team fields an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their present squad.

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

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

Their squad list this campaign includes 9 former Premier League players, with a combined 1,801 Premier League matches.

The high-profile roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 international caps.

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

He made his first appearance for the team in their last home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League players have won fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Household Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this summer through close mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

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

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

"The spectators who come and see are pleased and to make someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at full-back.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just go inside - I'm not defending 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 after. It's good fun."

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has netted eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in over 200 Premier League matches.

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

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

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

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

"Our group really have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Stephanie Gamble
Stephanie Gamble

A seasoned iGaming analyst with over a decade of experience covering regulatory changes and market trends worldwide.