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England given nod by Fifa to represent Team GB

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Published Date: 01 June 2009
By Martyn Ziegler
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has officially approved the deal for exclusively English football teams to represent Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics.
The four home nations had written to Fifa detailing their agreement for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take no part in the Olympics football tournament but allowing England to represent Team GB.

The deal was presented to Fifa's executive
committee meeting in Nassau, Bahamas yesterday, and afterwards Blatter said all parties were happy. It means the way is now completely clear for the British Olympic Association to announce that England will represent Team GB in the men's and women's tournaments.

Blatter said: "I'm happy because I have always said don't make a big story about this.

"You have to bring a Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympics in football, and as they are four associations then take one association to be this team.

"I said this at the very beginning and they did it. I am happy they are happy, the IOC is happy, the organising committee is happy and I hope football is happy."

The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs feared any involvement could threaten their separate identity in football, but Andy Burnham, secretary of state for culture, media and sport, earlier condemned their stance as "narrow-minded".

Burnham said on BBC Radio Five Live: "I'm obviously pleased that the four associations have come to an agreement that there can be a Team GB.

"But I think it's very disappointing and actually a bit narrow-minded in some ways that we're just saying young talent from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can't represent that Team GB."

It was also decided at the meeting that Europa League matches next season will be played with five officials as part of a trial.

The system involves an extra official standing on either side of each goal, assisting the referee make decisions by communicating through headsets.

Scotland will have four teams in the tournament formerly known as the Uefa Cup: Hearts, Aberdeen, Falkirk and Motherwell.

Fifa tested the system last year, and Uefa conducted successful experiments in Under-19 European Championship qualifying.

Blatter announced that Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Porto Alegre will be the 12 cities to host the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Five candidates were left out of the event: Florianopolis, Goiania, Campo Grande, Belem and Rio Branco.



The full article contains 414 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 31 May 2009 11:20 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: London Olympics 2012
 
1

Jim A,

01/06/2009 02:18:43
So it's not really a team GB, is it? It's team England. A true team GB would be a team with players from all four nations.
2

W Smith,

Middle East 01/06/2009 05:58:09
#1 Jim A

If Scots don't pass the heats for the 100m sprint, pole vault, or whatever its not deliberate and the rest of the atheletes from the UK can still go on and claim to be representing Britain.

Just because some Scots think there is something 'sacred' about football, compared to other sports where Scots have been part of a British team, doesn't mean much.

Funny how the Old Firm fans want their clubs to weasel their way into the ENGLISH Premiership though.

Nothing 'sacred' is being thrown into the gutter then.

So its money before national identity, eh?

Time to grow up me thinks.

BTW
We Scots are psychologically well balanced - we've got a chip on each shoulder to prove it.
3

Ross,

Athens 01/06/2009 07:10:47
#2
You are way off the mark.
People are genuinely worried that this could be the beginning of the end of Scottish football.
You can't trust these Blatter characters as far as you can throw them.
I don't see how this means we have a chip on our shoulder.

And, the Old Firm do not represent the whole of Scottish football by the way.
4

Paul in Oz,

Helensburgh 01/06/2009 07:27:34
I am genuinely ashamed to be Scottish over this narrowminded self satifying bs from all those little Scotlanders that can't see beyopnd their own borders.

5

Deadpan,

London 01/06/2009 08:54:05
#4 - some of us actually value having a Scottish national football team and don't see the point in putting this at risk for an under-age tournament that very few football fans care about.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the political machinations of FIFA know that Scotland's (and England, Wales and N Ireland's) special status is resented by many and the slightest excuse will be used to try and amalgamate us into a UK team.

For some this matters not but to the many who do care this isn't worth the risk. It remains to be seen whether this compromise will encourage those in world football who seek our demise.

This is not narrow minded and to give you an idea of what attitude exists outside Scotland's borders I've heard many an Englishman down here moan about our stance only, on hearing the explanation (which isn't usually aired in the English media), to recant and agree with our point of view.
6

Roy,

01/06/2009 09:24:17
An England team is an England team and shouldn't purport to be something it is not.

This is (un)sporting Colonialism and Imperialism.
7

mr broon,

Edinburgh 01/06/2009 12:05:50
At some future date, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that, in view of England's burgeoning population, just about every BOA competitor could be English born?

At the present time, 85 percent of the total population of the UK lives in England.

Various government and independent forecasts predict that, by 2056, England's population could increase by some 18 million, from 50 to 68 million.

Whilst at the same time, it is forecast that the populations of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will remain static, if not fall!

We all forget that in recent times the vast numbers of people who have migrated to the UK only have one objective in mind: England.

The total numbers of migrants who have settled in the Celtic Nations is miniscule in comparison.

The UK vis-a-vis GB is England, and whatever British Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish tell themselves, their true national identify will always be blurred and subsumed in the eyes of the rest of the world.
8

Media at One,

01/06/2009 13:36:02
This entire debacle makes a mockery of football.
FIFA should be doing all they can to make sure that the home nations are all part of the olympics, but once again they prove themselves to be anti football.
Blatter is a corrupt joke of a man who is entirely out of his depth and the head of a mafia style organisation who believe they own the game.
Scottish players should be able to take part in this tournament, and how dare Blatter use scare mongering tactics to frighten them off. What sort of barstrd is he?
If the home nations status was ever in jeapordy, FIFA would not need the olympics as an excuse to remove their it. Truth is FIFA cannot and will not ever try and remove the home nations status as it could result in an international back lash that would ruin FIFA for good and see another and more football orientated association appointed.
FIFA and UEFA need to be careful, what happens when an Association takes them to court for their part in squeezing the life out of smaller clubs. For instance, the ECL, should it not be that all the Champions of each country get automatic entry before biggers teams who finish 2nd and 3rd in their respective leagues? And the World Cup! Surely there should be no seeding once the final 32 are chosen. FIFA protect the big guns at the expense of the smaller nations and it should not be allowed.
So FIFA - I DARE YOU TO TRY IT ON WITH THE HOME NATIONS
9

Roger Payne,

Leysin, Switzerland 01/06/2009 14:41:21
A Great Britain football team has competed in the Olympic Games, including the 1908 Games in London when a gold medal was won. For the British Home Nation Football Associations and FIFA to agree that only young English footballers may participate in a British team in the 2012 London Olympic Games is discriminatory against those young men and women from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who may wish to be considered for selection. The Fundamental Principles of Olympism state that "The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit... (see page 11 of the Olympic Charter at http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_122.pdf). Presumably the Olympic Movement and, if called upon, the Court of Arbitration for Sport would agree that this agreement is discriminatory and against the Olympic spirit. Those in authority in the national and international sports organizations should not be putting obstacles in the way of young talented sports men and women because they fear that the status of their organizations may be compromised. They should be working to ensure that the sports they are responsible for are well managed for the enjoyment of participants and spectators, and following the established principles of friendship, solidarity and fair play.
10

Scotsman in Dublin,

01/06/2009 19:20:48
Sick of hearing about this and glad its over. Proper order that England are representing the UK anyway as this is the way that everyone outside the Brits of Scotland, Wales and NI see it anyway.
11

Dún Aenghus,

01/06/2009 20:57:26
Whats all the fuss about?
Scotland is ruled from London.
The queen of England is the queen of scotland.
The English flag flies over Edinburgh castle.
scotland like wales is only a province of England.
The queen of England is on the Scottish coinage.
Oops! I forgot,scotland has no coinage.
Sorry!

 

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