March 10 – Britain could field a football team made up entirely of English players at the 2012 London Olympics, Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said again today during a debate on the subject in the House of Commons.
The football associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are opposed to the idea of a British team, fearing participation could jeopardise their independence and voting rights within world governing body FIFA.
Sutcliffe said FIFA had given a written assurance that a British Olympic team would not threaten the interests of the individual associations, but also admitted there were no long-term guarantees that the four nations would continue to compete independently.
He said it would be a “farce” if Britain staged the Olympic soccer tournament without taking part in it. and said an all-English side could play if necessary, he said during the Parliamentary debate.
Sutcliffe said: “There has always been and will continue to be a threat to that individuality because of the way FIFA is evolving.
“[An all-English team] is the sad fact of what is going to happen unless we can try and resolve this issue.”
Pete Wishart, an MP Scottish National Party, described the Olympic tournament as “meaningless” when he opened the debate.
He said: “We should do absolutely nothing that would ever threaten our independent football status.
“We should never give a hint of a precedent that might be able to be used against us in the future.