Team GB

[Brovion]

Eh - What makes San Marino not a full-blown nation?

.

I thought it didn't have any armed forces and wasn't fully-independent of Italy in much the same way as Andorra isn't fully independent of France and Spain (and doesn't have an army).

But apparently it DOES have an army and it merely has a 'Friendship Treaty' with Italy, so yes I guess that qualifies it as a full-blown nation as opposed to a dependency or a principlality.

I wonder if the Vatican has a team?

 

[Brovion]

Sorry but you are totally wrong in your view This has actually been stated at FA meetings, and I wish I still had the minutes, that FIFA and EUFA want a GB team not an England Ireland Wales or Scotland team and will push for this at an opportunity. All tghe little counries represented like San Marino and the Agfrican nations do not give a toss about England and will back Sepp Blatter on FIFA and Michel Platini on EUFA, who even wants our teams out of the EUFA Cup.

But as Hatters has said FIFA and Ueafa have given assurances that that isn't the case. Unless of course they were lying? (No need to answer that!)

Having never been involved in football adminstration I'm obviously not in a position to argue with you - but anyway I don't want to find out. I'm opposed to the whole idea.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

Sorry but you are totally wrong in your view This has actually been stated at FA meetings, and I wish I still had the minutes, that FIFA and EUFA want a GB team not an England Ireland Wales or Scotland team and will push for this at an opportunity. All tghe little counries represented like San Marino and the Agfrican nations do not give a toss about England and will back Sepp Blatter on FIFA and Michel Platini on EUFA, who even wants our teams out of the EUFA Cup.

BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Smith 'excited' by Olympic team


Blatter insists a British team will be able to compete at the Games in seven years' time.

He told a media briefing in London: "We have confirmed in writing that they have to provide a Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympics, but the four British associations will not lose the rights and privileges acquired back in 1947.

"They will play with one team, but it is up to them how they do it.

"It can be a mixed team, it can be from just one of the home nations, whatever they want to do."

 

[BensGrandad]

An alternative could of course be to have a qualifying tournament with the winner representing GB.

That idea was muted to FIFA about making a group for the World Cup. That would have meant that one of the home countries would always get through but was rejected as unfair to other nations.

Reading the BBC blurb it would appear that either Sepp Blatter has softened his view over a period of time or he is doing a con job and when the crunch comes will say that he had no control over the way other delegates at FIFA voted and that this about the Olympics was his personal view.

 

[seagull@stirling]

Yes, Blatter has "said" that the four nations votes are safe....he won't be in charge come 2012 and there are a lot of voices within FIFA that think it's unfair we have four votes.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

An alternative could of course be to have a qualifying tournament with the winner representing GB.

The problem again with this is that you have to qualify for the Olympics, and this is done via the European Under 21 Championship the year before the Olympics, with the top 5 (I think) qualifying.

Either inter-British qualifiers would be irrelevent (i.e. Scotland might win, whilst England actually gain the place through European tournament), or FIFA might say that if a British team wants to compete in the Olympics, then they must compete as such in the Under-21 Euros also. And then with the loss of Under-21 independence, who knows where this might lead?

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

The problem again with this is that you have to qualify for the Olympics, and this is done via the European Under 21 Championship the year before the Olympics, with the top 5 (I think) qualifying.

Either inter-British qualifiers would be irrelevent (i.e. Scotland might win, whilst England actually gain the place through European tournament), or FIFA might say that if a British team wants to compete in the Olympics, then they must compete as such in the Under-21 Euros also. And then with the loss of Under-21 independence, who knows where this might lead?

All of this only applies for the 2012 games as we will be given a place without having to qualify. No chance of a regular spot.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

The problem again with this is that you have to qualify for the Olympics, and this is done via the European Under 21 Championship the year before the Olympics, with the top 5 (I think) qualifying.

Either inter-British qualifiers would be irrelevent (i.e. Scotland might win, whilst England actually gain the place through European tournament), or FIFA might say that if a British team wants to compete in the Olympics, then they must compete as such in the Under-21 Euros also. And then with the loss of Under-21 independence, who knows where this might lead?

its the top 4 in the u-21 championships

last time the top four were netherlands, serbia, england and belgium

england couldn't be in it so italy and portugal had a play-off to determine who replaced them, italy won

 

[ATFC Seagull]

its the top 4 in the u-21 championships

last time the top four were netherlands, serbia, england and belgium

england couldn't be in it so italy and portugal had a play-off to determine who replaced them, italy won

Fair enough. I remember watching the Olympic playoff and assumed it was a pre-planned thing.