In women’s football, the Olympic Games is huge – in fact, it’s second only to the World Cup in terms of prestige. But in men’s football, and specifically in the UK, the Olympics is bizarrely overlooked.
For reasons that we’ll get into shortly, Team GB has barely entered a men’s team into the Games’ football competition in more than a century – despite the fact that a) football is the most popular sport in the UK, and b) the obvious medal chances that the combined Great Britain team would have.
It’s political and administrative shenanigans that see Team GB continue to boycott the men’s football discipline at the Olympic Games.
Olympic History
Football is one of the oldest and most-prolific sports on the Olympic schedule – it has been played at every single edition of the Games since 1900, with the only aberration being in 1932 when FIFA decided that the promotion of their new World Cup should take priority.
The challenge facing the governing body and the Olympic Committee is that the Games falls into a quadrennial summer timeslot that also includes the European Championship and Copa America – it would be inconceivable to expect the players that have represented their countries in those international showpieces to then play in the Olympics too; without a break before the start of the club season.
FIFA in particular have been instrumental in changing the Olympic football rules to ensure that doesn’t happen – today, each nation must build their team around players aged 22 and under, with three ‘over-age’ exceptions allowed in the squad.
Interestingly, there is no age restrictions in the women’s Olympic football tournament – perhaps explaining why that particular competition is so fiercely contested by the best players on the planet. But if this has whet your appetite to see Team GB in action at the Games, sadly, you won’t be seeing the men’s team competing there.
Questionable Status
In the early days of the Olympics at the start of the twentieth century, Great Britain dominated the action – winning gold in 1900, 1908, and 1912. Of course, the tournament was on a much smaller scale then due to the complexities of international travel – and also because football was still in its infancy outside of the home nations.
By the 1920s, more countries from different parts of the globe were being invited to play – this was in an era before the World Cup had been originated, so the Olympics was the main international tournament of the day.
Soon, the likes of Belgium and Uruguay were striking gold at the Games – the latter, of course, going on to win the first World Cup in 1930 during their era of global dominance. Great Britain continued to compete at the Olympics, but were unable to match their earlier successes – and, by the 1976 edition, they had been pulled out of the Games altogether.
Prior to 1984, only amateur players were allowed to compete in the Olympic football tournament – a distinction that the Football Association struggled with at a time when professionalism was increasingly rife in the British game.
The FA were also concerned that if a unified Team GB was entered into the Olympics, FIFA might start wondering why they allowed the individual constituent countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to enter their tournaments as separate entities.
Home Comforts
Fast forward to the 2012 Games in London, where the Football Association had a predicament. The hosts of the Olympics automatically have a place ringfenced for them in the football competition – but with the Games taking place in London only, that meant that England, rather than Great Britain as a whole, were the host qualifiers. Pressure was put on the FA to field a team, and they reluctantly agreed – managing to convince their counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Ireland to allow an England team to compete at the 2012 Games.
However, the British Olympic Association blocked those plans, before the Football Associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland revealed that they did not support a Team GB – but would not stand in the way of their players competing anyway.
Stuart Pearce, the then head coach of England Under-21s, was sworn in as manager of the unique team, which saw Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey, and Craig Bellamy compete alongside a squad of mainly English players. Because of all the chaos in the build-up, perhaps, Team GB underwhelmed at the Olympics when they finally took to the pitch.
Although they qualified for their group, they would ultimately go down in a shock defeat to South Korean in the quarter-finals at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. Brazil would take on Mexico in the final in front of 86,000 people at Wembley Stadium, and a side containing the likes of Neymar, Thiago Silva, and Oscar were the overwhelming favourites to take home the gold medals.
However, a brace from Oribe Peralta was enough to fire the Mexicans to a surprise victory. They celebrated jubilantly as they were handed their gold medals, confirming how seriously they had taken the Olympics – in stark contrast to Team GB’s administrative woes. As for Great Britain, it was the last involvement of the men’s team in the Olympic Games – they may never compete in the competition ever again.
Going for Gold
One of the problems with Team GB’s stance is that it deprives their young players of a chance to play big tournament football – gaining important experience ahead of the World Cup and Euros in years to come. You no doubt won’t remember the 2020 Olympic tournament – Brazil beat Spain in the final, but just look at that Spanish squad.
What do you notice: more than half-dozen of them went on to feature in their country’s triumphant run to the EURO 2024 title, from Marc Cucurella, Pedri and Dani Olmo to Mikel Oyarzabal, Unai Simon, and Mikel Merino.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Neymar, and even Pep Guardiola have won the gold medal at the Olympics – highlighting how effective this tournament is as a breeding ground of top talent. Is Team GB missing a trick by not getting involved?
