GB Olympic Football Team 2012

[Bonfirelight]

Time for this old argument again?

Great Britain must field a football team in the London 2012 Games, says the chairman of the British Olympic Association Lord Moynihan. (Daily Express)

Like most people i'm against the idea in principle, but it looks like it'll go ahead despite my humble reservations.

How do you think it will / should work?
Should it be an all english team, to limit the possible repercussions on the national associations?
Will you / the nation in general be supporting the team?

Personally i think they should field an amateur GB side picked from sunday league teams across Britain.

 

[skyscraper101]

I think they should register interest from all professional football players for eligibility but not make it a mandatory thing that all Scotland/England/N.Ireland and Welsh players have to make themselves available.

Then manager Alex Ferguson can select from whoever registers interest to represent GB. This way, it would be least likely to harbor claims of bias towards one nation or another - although I'm sure England will be most represented (but they have the largest population and player representation so its a bit obvious that would happen anyway)

All things considered, I'm still against it, but that would be how I'd do it.

 

[g force]

Still won't win it

 

[mrkikiet]

why should the national associations still have so much influence?

 

[Grego Morales]

If it happens it will be a one off I would've thought - and the bureaucrats at FIFA would have to be persuaded. I would like to see it happen, but I'm not that bothered either way. Perhaps it should only be made up of non-EPL players. You have to be 23 or under too, right?

 

[E.J.]

If it happens it will be a one off I would've thought - and the bureaucrats at FIFA would have to be persuaded. I would like to see it happen, but I'm not that bothered either way. Perhaps it should only be made up of non-EPL players. You have to be 23 or under too, right?

Footie at the Olympics is an under 23 tournament, but any teams in the competition can use 2 or 3 players who are over 23 (if i'm right?)

 

[Artie Fufkin]

but any teams in the competition can use 2 or 3 players who are over 23 (if i'm right?)

this should increase Beckham's chances of a call up then

 

[aylee]

I don't understand why the continued independent existence of the national associations is said to be put in jeopardy by this proposal. I thought that some time ago Twatter, sorry Blatter, had specifically said that it wouldn't do so.

So why not?

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Personally I think the Olympics should just ditch the football. An U-23 team except with 3 older players? Pointless IMO.

 

[Silva]

Ditching the competition altogether also seems the most sensible thing to do, particularly since a lot of the players going nowadays (even U-23s) already are established players with millionaire contracts... not to mention it's just an inconvenient side tournament nobody really cares that much.
Replacing it with indoor football would make more sense to me, to be fair.