GB olympic football team

[Council Juice]

To be honest I dont see the problem. Fifa has stated it wouldnt be a problem as outside Fifa anyway.

- The egg chasers (British Lions) do it and they're sensible to still allow Scotland Ireland and Wales as well as Engurlund into the World cup.

- The Olympics is like the only competition where Britain is competing and not the home nations seperately.

- Theirs no reason to suggest that with just the addition of a football team this would change anything.

-Im sure alot of Scots are fairly happy to be Brits along with Welsh Northern Irish and even English folks and would be proud to be part of the Olympics team just like Hoy was and is. Just like he is proud to represent Scotland in the Commonweath games.

And as for having a seperate Scottish olympics team. Where does Salmond think he'll get all the Sporting funding for these people? Not the lottery fund. He can be sure of that.

[Guest Spectre]

Don't care if there's a team.

If there is, don't care if Scotland join in or not.

Just wish Brown and Salmond would STFU

[Charles Bannerman]

This fuss has all blown up because politicians have once again tried to jump on the bandwagon of sport. Let's face it, the whole lot of them are only interested in their own political aims and couldn't give a toss about the Olympics etc. This is just Big Gordy trying to look like Mr. GB and Wee Alec looking for another excuse to pick a fight with the English.

In any case, this is a complete non issue. Football as a sport is a law unto itself simply because of its worldwide size and as such is completely irrelevant to the Olympics and doesn't care about them. The Olympic football competition has always been a joke and whether or not Britain competes in it is really a side issue. I just don't know what the fuss is all about, except perhaps that Scotland etc always get extremely twitchy when their anomalous and privileged positions of places at the FIFA table without being proper sovereign nations comes under any threat. What the recent fuss is really about is that there are people in Scotland bricking it that Scotland has separate FIFA status whereas the likes of Bavaria, Brittany, California don't and this fuss will draw attention to that. They're just trying to keep their heads down.

A Scottish Olympic team, apart from being a complete non starter under IOC rules which restrict membership to proper sovereign nations, is a complete nonsense because there simply isn't the talent here and certainly not the facilities. Why not believe the people, like Chris Hoy, who have been there, done it and have the Team GB teeshirt?

Edited August 27, 2008 by Charles Bannerman

[Kingsmills]

The Olympic Associatio are quite capable of being flexible. Hong Kong, which is not a sovereign nation, competed in the Recent Olympics under their own distict banner.

[chris123]

Those that say this would not threaten our position as an independent football nation are IMO misguided.

For some years the other FIFA have countries failed to see why Britain gets 4 votes instead of 1, and there would be a massive backlash if precedent was set for one Great Britain team. Remember, the English cricket team is in fact the English and Wales cricket team, but I myself can't remember the last time anyone referred to it as Welsh at all.

Edited August 27, 2008 by chris123

[crownjaggie]

Those that say this would not threaten our position as an independent football nation are IMO misguided.

For some years the other FIFA have countries failed to see why Britain gets 4 votes instead of 1, and there would be a massive backlash if precedent was set for one Great Britain team. Remember, the English cricket team is in fact the English and Wales cricket, but I myself can't remember the last time anyone referred to it as Welsh at all.

Chris has it bang on in that a "one off" united team would be used by FIFA to solve the issue once and for all. Any promises given would be conveniently forgotten as always happens when politicians and the higher echelons of sports governing bodies find it suits their agenda.

[Guest Spectre]

Remember, the English cricket team is in fact the English and Wales cricket team, but I myself can't remember the last time anyone referred to it as Welsh at all.

When Simon Jones was ripping the Aussies to pieces in 2005.

[Kingsmills]

Not even then as I recall.

[Alex MacLeod]

A GB team would do nothing to help the Scottish game. Selection would be English bias. If any Scots selected they'll be OF bias. There are already enough international tournaments and the Olympics, which are in the same year as the Europeans, would disrupt pre-season prep for clubs who have players participating.

[Charles Bannerman]

I would agree with Alex's post in all respects except that it wouldn't be English "bias"... they quite simply have a far greater number of good players (but for some reason can't translate that into international success in existing competitions.)

[Council Juice]

I dont think it would cause the problems that many are suggesting. If Scotland and England and Wales and Northern Ireland were to not be allowed to play as seperate nations then their leagues would have to be merged as well.

It wouldnt suit to have one national team with 4 top flights.

It would easily solve the problem by just picking English based English players. They wouldnt win it anyway but it would be interesting to have a home nation representing in the olympics at the supposed home of footie.