SEPTEMBER 29 – THE British Olympic Association are to press ahead with plans to field British football teams at future Games, including in London in 2012, despite opposition from the Scottish and Welsh Football Associations.
A meeting of the four home nations’ FAs called by the BOA yesterday was snubbed by the Welsh and the Scottish – but it was agreed to enter a British women’s team for the 2008 Games and men’s and women’s teams for London 2012.
The BOA have not ruled out the possibility of picking Scottish and Welsh players even if the two FAs do not want any involvement.
Sir Clive Woodward, who has just taken over as the BOA’s director of elite performance, said: “The Olympics is a very special occasion and if a player from any of the four countries wanted to play, I think it would be a shame if they were not allowed to participate.
“If the football teams were put together with strong squads and a strong coach I think they would have a real medal chance.”
BOA chief executive Simon Clegg said the plans for British teams would go ahead even without the support of the Scottish and Welsh FAs.
“We will be going ahead anyway and my aspiration is to field the strongest possible teams and I would hope that sports administrators would not hold back their finest footballers, men or women, from participating in this great event,” he said.
Asked whether Welsh and Scottish players could be selected even without their FAs’ agreement, Clegg added: “We have not got to that stage yet but it is the BOA who select the team to go to the Games.”
A British football team has not taken part in the Olympics since 1960 though an amateur team did continue trying to qualify until 1972.
The England women’s team could qualify for 2008 if they beat or draw with France tomorrow and make it to next year’s World Cup finals in China.
They would then need to finish one of the three top European sides to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. As 2012 hosts, there would be automatic qualification for both men’s and women’s football teams in London in six years’ time.
Clegg said he had received a letter from the Welsh FA explaining why they felt unable to attend the meeting but had received nothing from the Scottish FA.
There is concern in those two associations that involvement with a British Olympic team could threaten their separate status with FIFA, despite FIFA president Sepp Blatter promising that would not be the case.