Plans for Great Britain football teams to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics have been scrapped. The English Football Association had hoped to field men's and women's teams at the Games but failed to gain support from the other home nations. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32125977 My view is that we need to remind the Welsh FA which side their bread is buttered - we allow Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Wrexham to play in our leagues. Our FA needs to flex it's muscles here a bit. Personally I don't think football should be in the Olympics (or Golf or Tennis for that matter), but while it is, its madness that we can't put a team in it
I'd like to see a Great Britain team put into the Olympics, but only on the condition that it's a team consisting of amateur players either unattached to a professional team or playing outside of the professional pyramid. Professional footballers shouldn't be playing in the Olympics. They probably wouldn't want to anyway. Let players in non-league football have a go. The quality won't be as great, but with adequate funding I reckon the Olympics would put together a good show, and would probably push some home-grown talent out of non-league football and into professional football.
Politically all the countries of the UK aspire to self governing independence. If they want it let them have it warts and all. That includes football. So its separate teams for me (and separate leagues).
What you need to remember is Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham don't want to be part of the Welsh FA. As far as I'm aware Newport should of gone through the Welsh leagues meaning never getting back into the current league system that they played their games outside Wales, hence the name the Exiles. FIFA as we know is not run by a normal person, have been pushing and pushing for a United Britain team, so Scotland are worried and rightly so that they will be disbanded and all internationals under the banner of Britain. At the last Olympics is was not only the smaller nations, but the English FA wanted reassurances that there will be no possibility thst this will happen so FIFA sanctioned it that once. I was led to believe that when the FA was originaly set up, it was set up with the Welsh teams already in the footballing pyramid. Comments like WE allow is the reason why there is this stupid hostility between Wales, Scotland Ireland v England, when the English say we are lucky to have them. Remember without the Welsh coal, and Scotland's oil and gas Britain itself could of struggled.
That's true but not the issue. We want them to stay in a United kingdom but they are dissatisfied with their lot so what's the answer? While the SNP lost the referendum they will now strive to make the Government dysfunctional until such time as we give in. They must make their minds up they are either in warts and all or out. The Scottish public have decided but their politicians have not. Sport unfortunately always gets dragged into politics
'While the SNP lost the referendum they will now strive to make the Government dysfunctional' Alex Salmond, Ed Milliband and the Unite Union. Heaven on Earth.
