Something is Rising in the 50 degree heat of the Arizona desert.

Three hundred miles from the Las Vegas strip, on the banks of the Salt River in Phoenix, lies a brand new soccer complex home to a whole host of former Premier League regulars.

This is not your usual football club. In fact, they could well be the most exciting side you've never heard of. Didier Drogba and Shaun Wright-Phillips leading the line, celebrity co-owners in the stands and a raucous fan base are just the tip of the iceberg in the Valley of the Sun.

Centre back Peter Ramage takes in the applause from the Phoenix Rising fans in Arizona

Didier Drogba celebrates after scoring against Vancouver Whitecaps II on his Phoenix debut

The local area has deep Hispanic roots, but the team has an English core, with six of the regular starting XI born on British shores.

One of them is Peter Ramage, a towering centre back formerly of Newcastle, QPR and Crystal Palace, who headed stateside for a new challenge in the twilight years of his career.

With his playing time dwindling in England, he made the bold decision to uproot himself to the States. Arizona is a long way from Ashington.

'I've never experienced heat like it,' Ramage tells Sportsmail. 'My mum and dad went to Spain the other week, saying they were trying to get acclimatised to the Arizona heat.

'I said to them, "Jeez, no. Stick the kettle on, boil it, pour that over your face and then you'll start to get acclimatised." This is a desert.'

People drive with oven mitts on their hands, and ice packs resting on the back of their necks. Last week, planes weren't allowed to take off from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport because the aircrafts couldn't function in the heat.

Drogba has helped the club move up a gear - he is pulling in the punters and scoring regularly

Ramage is delighted to be a part of the club as they try to gain a new franchise spot in MLS

DROGBA'S CAREER 1998–2002: Le Mans 2002–2003: Guingamp 2003–2004: Marseille 2004–2012: Chelsea 2012–2013: Shanghai Shenhua 2013–2014: Galatasaray 2014–2015: Chelsea 2015–2016: Montreal Impact 2017–present: Phoenix Rising Advertisement

But for Ramage, Phoenix Rising has got him flying again. This is not a man content with ambling towards the end of his career… the club has an exciting plan and he's delighted to be a part of it.

They currently play in the USL, the second tier of American soccer, one below the MLS and with grand plans of making it to the big time.

Drogba is a huge part of that, recently arriving stateside as a player and co-owner, ready to finish his career in style before moving behind the scenes in two years' time. Already, he's made a huge impact on and off the pitch.

'He's putting bums on seats,' Ramage says. 'We've sold out every home game that we've had, and all the shirts are getting sold with "Drogba 11" on the back. It's great for the organisation that they've managed to bring someone of his ilk in.

He says he hasn't experienced anything like the Arizona heat, where it is regularly 50 degrees

The squad has a core of English players, with Shaun Wright-Phillips (bottom, 2R) among them

'Even for us players… at 33, I'm still learning from him, and it's great to say that I'm sharing a dressing room with him. It's hard to say as a Palace fan: he's a Chelsea legend, but he's also a footballing legend, and it's great to be able to feed off him and learn.'

Before Drogba rocked up, Ramage wore the captain's armband, but the 33-year-old insists he was happy to step aside.

'The guy is the face of the franchise, he's the big dog, and it doesn't change my role in the squad. I'm still as physical as ever and I see myself as one of the leaders of the group, the senior boys with Shaun.'

Behind the scenes, Drogba is not the only big name with a financial interest. Musicians, DJs and sportsmen have also jumped on board as this club hurtles towards the top.

Chelsea legend Drogba will play for two seasons before moving to a role behind the scenes

Former Leicester and Watford defender Jordan Stewart is another Englishman out in the desert

ENGLISH CONTINGENT There are six English players in the Phoenix Rising squad... they are: - Shaun Wright-Phillips - Peter Ramage - Jordan Stewart - Matt Watson - Jordan Gibbons - Luke Rooney Advertisement

LA Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy attends matches, DJ Diplo sponsors the shirts with his record label 'Mad Decent', and Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz also has a stake.

'They've all got a financial investment in it, but also there's an emotional attachment,' Ramage continues. 'They're all people from the area who are massive soccer fans, which is great to see because it's obviously not the No 1 sport over here, but they're marketing the club well.

'They're bringing people to the stadium. We go out and about in town, and people are starting to recognise who you are. It's brilliant. Obviously the end-game is to get to MLS and Rome wasn't built in a day. They're doing it day-by-day and it's great to be a part of it and to see how passionate they are about it, too.'

The MLS has garnered a reputation for being something of a graveyard for Premier League players; a last-ditch pay-day before they hang up their boots, but something about this project feels different.

Wright-Phillips celebrates with the Phoenix fans after scoring the winner against Vancouver

There is talk about extending the stadium in Arizona to 10,000 to deal with the popularity

A number of the players in the Phoenix squad are 30 and older, but there are also youngsters breaking through, trying to make their name in the game.

'The standard is a lot better than people say it is,' Ramage says. 'People think "second tier MLS, oh it's a bit Mickey Mouse", but it's not. There's a lot of good players.

'We play against a lot of the MLS second teams, the reserves, and you come up against the first-teamers who are coming back from injury or haven't been in the first team for a while. The standard is very good.

'There's a lot of younger players who are at the start of their careers, and also plenty of experienced players. Richard Chaplow is over at Orange County, he's played in the Premier League himself. Joe Cole is at Tampa Bay, and Neil Collins is with him.

Wright-Phillips played for Manchester City, Chelsea and QPR before moving over to America

Drogba celebrates with Mexico legend Omar Bravo after his goal against Real Monarchs

'Players that have played at the highest level in Europe are over here in the USL and the NASL. The games are getting better, and the standard is a lot better than I envisaged when I came out.'

And the fans have certainly bought into the project. At the end of the summer, there is talk about extending the new stadium to 10,000 capacity, with Major League Soccer now visible on the horizon.

At every match, Los Bandidos – the club's fanatics – light flares and chant from the first whistle to the last. MLS officials visited in May regarding a potential expansion spot, and with names like Drogba on board, it is surely just a matter of time.

They have been described as US soccer's best kept secret, but if Phoenix keep Rising like this, it won't be a secret for long.

Wright-Phillips takes the applause of the crowd after a draw against 1868 Reno in Phoenix