GB team to play at Olympics

March 10, 2009

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has announced that a GB team will definitely play at the 2012 Olympics even if the team is completely made up of English players.

Sutcliffe has encouraged all nations to take part but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are worried for their footballing independence if they take part in the tournament.

Speaking in a debate at Parliament’s Westminster Hall, Sutcliffe said: “What a farce it would be to have those qualification games in Wales and Scotland without the possibility of British participation.”

Asked if a purely English team would take the field if the associations in the other home nations boycotted the event, he added: “That is correct and that is the sad fact of what is going to happen unless we can try and resolve this issue.”

Sutcliffe revealed that football’s international ruling body Fifa had given written assurances that a UK side in 2012 would not affect the national teams.

But he acknowledged “there has always been and will continue to be a threat to that individuality because of the way Fifa is evolving”, irrespective of the 2012 issue.

The debate was opened by the SNP’s Pete Wishart, who said participation in the “meaningless” Olympic soccer competition could jeopardise the future of the Scotland national side.

He said: “We should do absolutely nothing that would ever threaten our independent football status.

Liberal Democrat Olympics spokesman Tom Brake backed a joint team but called for “much more solid assurances” from Fifa.

Wishart proposed that all the home nations are allowed to enter individual teams but this is very unlikely to receive wide support though former Scotland manager Craig Brown supported this proposal.

“If there is an insistence on having UK representation, why not allow all four teams to compete?

“Football is already a special case in the Olympics because it discriminates by only allowing players under 23 to compete, so why not allow the four sides from the UK?”

The SFA has once again asked for the politicians to stay out of the debate and leave the issue o them and the other footballing authorities in the UK.

“As has been made clear time and again, the Football Associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are unified in their opposition to Team GB.

“Any politician who continues to push the agenda of a such a damaging venture should do so in the knowledge that they are going against the wishes of the majority of the football family in the UK.”

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