GB Football Team

[Andyh]

GB Football Team for 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/news/n...l_020905.shtml

Friday on BBC Three News.


Team GB?
Fifa’s timing is impeccable.

The day before England take on Wales in a crucial World Cup qualifier, Fifa president Sepp Blatter announces that Great Britain must enter a football team at the London 2012 Olympics.

The idea has been mooted before but has never been adopted because of fears that football's global governing body would insist on a Great Britain team at the World Cup as well.

But Fifa says there’s no danger of this happening and that each home nation's individual status will not be affected.

The home nations are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Quite how a combined team would work out has yet to be decided, and Fifa is leaving the details up to the respective national football associations to figure out.


But will all the home nations want to play ball under the Team GB banner? Would Welsh wonders like Ryan Giggs and Scottish stars like Darren Fletcher even make a GB 11?

The Scottish Football Association isn’t keen on the idea and has given a lukewarm response to Blatter's announcement.

The only certainty is that any Great Britain team playing in the London 2012 games will be limited to players aged under 23, with three “overage” players allowed.

So the Beckhams and Gerrards of today definitely wouldn’t feature, while Wayne Rooney might just scrape it.

Tonight we’ll be asking if the creation of a Team GB could mark the first step towards the unification of football in the UK, at a time when in many other areas of life devolution is becoming the norm?

We’ll also be previewing Saturday’s action: Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan (15.00), Scotland v Italy (17.30) and Wales v England (15.00). Can the Welsh pull off an unlikely victory in the Millennium Stadium

[JohnA]

If there had not been separate sports teams would devolution have happened?

[Andyh]

Interesting thought, but would a GB team work considering the differences between the countries.

[londonpommie]

I think the Olympics would be fine.

A lot of 'I'll never support a GB team' vocalists would pretend to pay no interest unless the team actually reached a semi or something.

But your average fan doesn't really get to involved in the Olympics, so an interesting experiment.

[JohnA]

It is essentially an under 23 tournament. Some nations take it really seriously, others seem not to care.

[Saint George]

I believe Scotland have ruled themselves out of playing in a GB team, and Wales have yet to decide.

While playing as GB at the Olympics is not particularly helpful towards preserving our separate status, the main threat would come if Scotland, Wales, and/or NI started qualifying for major tournaments.

If that happened then other countries would seriously start questioning why the UK should be allowed four teams.

[robbo reading]

Cant see it myself, that would be like making the balkans countries play as yugoslavia again or rounding up the soviet satellite nations to play as cccp again.

[Andyh]

It would be like watching a Premiership team play, except Chelsea of course.

[MacZidane]

Originally posted by Andyh
We’ll also be previewing Saturday’s action: Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan (15.00), Scotland v Italy (17.30) and Wales v England (15.00). Can the Welsh pull off an unlikely victory in the Millennium Stadium

And the 'Miles Behind' winner 2005 goes to.....