Team Athers could have played for? (6)

I believe the answer is:

hearts

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'team' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'athers could have played for?' is the wordplay.
'athers' can be anagrammed to 'HEARTS'.
But, I'm not clear how this is indicated.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hearts that I've seen before include "They beat" , "quarterdeck?" , "Red suit" , "Playing-card suit" , "Suit for vital organs" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.