Old crap: The Artificial Barriers to a Team GB Olympic Soccer Team

*probably written in 2011*

As the rest of the world scratches it's head, or yawns with disinterest, once again a debate has opened up about the fate of the British Olympic soccer (or football as we call it) team for 2012.

The British have a complex national identity which sometimes throws up these conundrums. While Britain competes in the Olympics as a single nation, in other sports such as soccer (football as it is known there), rugby and the constituent nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) compete individually.

For London 2012 is was decided that Team GB would field a soccer team for the first time since 1960. This instantly led to a rejection of the idea by the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Football Associations, citing a fear for their continued sovereignty in the international game. The English FA were handed the role of running the team, and it was widely thought that the team would consist solely of English players.

However several players from the other home nations have since expressed an interest in playing for the Olympic team, including the highly rated Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale, and in the women's game players have allegedly asked for clarification as to their future if they played for Team GB. This has posed a problem to the stance of the 'celtic' nations.

Now the new vice-president of football's international governing body, FIFA, has said that he will draft a written agreement to protect the continued right of the home nations to field individual teams in the future.

So where does this leave Team GB? On paper there never was a real barrier to Britain putting a united team out in the Olympics. Let's examine the evidence:

They've done it before and the separate nations continued to compete in other tournaments.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has repeatedly stated that this would be the case in 2012, and FIFA are now writing an official agreement to ensure this.
Non-English players want to play for Team GB.
The opposition to the plan seems to be rooted in ideas about national identity and sovereignty, but also about power. The four associations are the oldest organizations in soccer and those in charge would not like to see their statuses diminished.

All are members of the International Football Association Board alongside FIFA, which sets the laws of the game, and while it seems unlikely there would be any change to this situation there remains a defensiveness.

The Team GB soccer team will happen with or without the non-English players, but it seems increasingly likely that a genuinely British team will be fielded, and considering the state of the individual teams it might just be the best chance any of them have of winning a tournament.