? Welsh and Scottish FAs claim they were not consulted
? Footballers may have final say on their own participation
The ink had barely dried on a watershed agreement ensuring that male and female Great Britain football teams will compete during next year's Olympics before unseemly civil war erupted with England under hostile fire from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Within minutes of Tuesday's announcement that players from all four countries were eligible for selection for a London 2012 Team GB, the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish FAs trained their guns on both the English FA and the British Olympic Association.
No sooner had Andy Hunt, the BOA's chief executive, declared that "an historic agreement" had been reached than the race to contradict him the most vehemently began.
Phil Pritchard, the Welsh FA president, was among those furious at the announcement of something the English FA has long supported but despite Olympic football matches being scheduled for the Millennium Stadium and Hampden Park, their fellow home nations consistently resisted.
Football powerbrokers in Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast, remain opposed to a GB team, fearing it will damage their autonomy at Fifa, despite repeated reassurances to the contrary from the world game's governing body.
"No discussions took place with any of us, far less has any historic agreement been reached," they said in a joint statement. "The Football Associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland reiterate our collective opposition to Team GB participation at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, contrary to the media release issued by the BOA.
"We have been consistently clear in explaining the reason for our stance, principally to protect the identity of each national association. With that in mind, we cannot support nor formally endorse the approach that has been proposed by the Football Association."
Yet as the FA is the IOC/Fifa designated national governing body for Olympic football, mandated to represent not just the English but their Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts, the agreement is legally binding and there is nothing those outraged Celtic neighbours can do about it.
Moreover, FA officials are privately perplexed at the vitriol directed towards Team GB, particularly as they possess letters from the other home nations reluctantly accepting the inevitability of its creation. The suspicion is that the current furore may be mainly about the BOA's use of the phrase "historic agreement".
Tellingly while the Scottish Football Association's chief executive Stewart Regan claimed there was "absolutely no appetite" for the concept among his compatriots, he added: "Legally we cannot stop players being selected."
In reality many non-English British footballers of both sexes may jump at a rare chance to participate in a major tournament. It will now be up to individuals to decide if they want to compete in the face of fierce disapproval from their home associations. Considerable interest is sure to revolve around the decision reached by Tottenham's �40m valued Welshman Gareth Bale.
Jim Boyce, Britain's Fifa vice-president and former president of the Irish FA, indicated Northern Irish footballers would be discouraged from accepting any invitations. "People won't be changing their minds," he said.
Glossing over such intransigence, the BOA's statement suggested that all the home nations were behind the creation of Team GB. "The FA has consulted with its partner associations in developing the player-selection criteria and timeline," it said. "All four associations have received a written assurance from Fifa that participation in the 2012 Olympic football tournament will in no way compromise their autonomy and independence for other Fifa-sanctioned tournaments, or impact on their positions of leadership within the Fifa governance structure."
The men's squad will comprise 18 players ? 15 under-23s and three of "open age".Longlist selection begins later this year, with the FA responsible for naming the respective male and female managers and support staff.
While Team GB has never fielded a women's football side at an Olympics, the last time Britain's men competed was in Rome in 1960 where they failed to win a medal.
Alex Horne, the FA's General Secretary is looking forward to history repeating itself in rather more glorious fashion. "We're delighted there'll be football teams representing Team GB at London 2012," he said. "As the host nation, that's important."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jun/21/fa-olympic-football-team
Social networking Self-catering Rugby league Opera Rihanna Dolomites
No comments:
Post a Comment