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Why Great Britain entering a football team in the Olympics for the first time in 52 years is a good thing.

Jack Rodwell modeling the Team GB football shirt.

For too long, 52 years to be precise, the Great British Olympic committee has overlooked entering a football team into the Olympic games. The main reason for this has always been to protect the independent footballing identities of the four Home Nations, as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all compete as individual nations in FIFA competitions. Since all four countries have failed to win anything between them since England’s World Cup triumph in 1966, surely we would all stand a better chance of winning something if we combined our talents in one united Great British team?


The Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh FA’s put their foot down and refused their players to be involved in the Olympic team, however, they have no objections to England making up the team with their own players.


England fans have always found it bitterly disappointing and somewhat unfair that Ryan Giggs is Welsh and unable to play for England, and then when Gareth Bale emerged as one of the brightest young talents in the Premier League, the frustration escalated. What might have been if those two had been English?


Unfortunately for the Welsh FA, the lure of being involved in the Olympics has proved irresistible to Wales’ finest talent, including Bale, their captain Aaron Ramsey and the experienced Craig Bellamy. Giggs, having retired from international football, is on Team GB manager Stuart Pearce’s radar to link up with his former Manchester United teammate, David Beckham.


It would be a great shame if Bale and Ramsey were denied the chance to represent Great Britain in the Olympics. It is every sportsman’s dream to be involved in the pinnacle of sporting events and have the chance to win a gold medal and for the Welsh FA to stand firm and not allow their players to participate would be a huge blow to their professional careers.


The Olympic rules state the football teams must feature players below the age of 23, with the exception of three experienced heads. It is essentially a youth tournament with the luxury of adding accomplished players into the mix, Giggs, Becks and Rooney perhaps? The new wave of young English talent in the Premier League, combined with the possibility of adding the best young players from the home nations, means Team GB will have a squad worthy of a podium finish. As a collective, this is our big chance to win a tournament.