Discover the Weekend Division Squad With Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a excellent veteran squad that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 games?

Bring in a raft of former professionals that have performed at the elite level of club football and global soccer as you target more silverware.

A Greater Manchester team boasts an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their present roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 International Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.

Their roster this season features 9 former top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This elite squad also contains 222 top division goals and over 320 international caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home-field game versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour first-half triple.

The team for this season also includes former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed 15 significant trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of about £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this season through close mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and watch are happy and to give a moment if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he made his debut at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move forward - 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 attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one game up front.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with three wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over 200 Premier League games.

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

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager manages the opposition vets side, who won the Top Tier title the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Susan Clarke
Susan Clarke

Elara is a city planner and writer passionate about sustainable urban development and community engagement.