The Olympics probably ranks a poor third on the list of summer sporting spectacles that football fans look forward to. The World Cup and European Championships attract more attention and affection, and are more eagerly coveted. How many football fans dream about their country winning the Gold medal for football at the Olympics? How many aspiring players hungrily eye that particular accolade? The warmth with which Lionel Messi has spoken about his Olympic success may have bestowed a sprinkling of prestige on Olympic football but probably not enough to raise it to any real prominence. Bearing all of that in mind, why is it proving to be so controversial?
Because it has the potential, or so it is argued, to undermine the independence of the United Kingdom’s four separate Football Associations. Understandably, it is the football authorities in the UK’s three smaller nations that are putting up the most stubborn resistance to their players participating in the Team GB football team. The Scottish Football Association, Irish Football Association and Welsh Football Association are of the collective opinion that such a move will play into the hands of those in world football casting a resentful eye towards the existence of four different international teams playing under the one passport.
FIFA has given assurances that the participation of players from around the UK in Team GB will in no way endanger this existence: these assurances are being treated with a healthy scepticism. Although it is not often mentioned, the implication is that such a move would lead to a UK national team that would be England (plus Gareth Bale) in all but name. History and sentiment also operate powerfully against such an amalgamation. It is also possible to detect some political considerations lapping at the edges of the debate: opposition to the Team GB football squad sometimes comes across as opposition to Team GB itself.
The fans also seem arrayed against ‘their’ players taking part in Team GB. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey were booed by Wales fans after appearing in the Team GB strip-this despite the fact that they are arguably the two best Welsh players since Ryan Giggs. It has been reported that the SFA has advised players that, while it has no authority to prevent players competing, they should anticipate an adverse reaction from fans of the national team. This has been framed as a sympathetic warning but it also reads like emotional blackmail from an impotent governing body. Some club fans may be more amenable to the idea of their players turning out for Team GB.