A Great Britain football team will play at the 2012 Olympics even if it is made up entirely of English players, sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe has insisted. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations are opposed to a joint squad in case it affects their independent national sides.Sutcliffe is eager to have the "widest representation" from the UK. But he admitted to MPs it may be that only the English FA would let its players compete in the tournament.

Speaking in a debate at Parliament's Westminster Hall, Sutcliffe said: "What a farce it would be to have those qualification games in Wales and Scotland without the possibility of British participation." Asked if a purely English team would take the field if the associations in the other home nations boycotted the event, he added: "That is correct and that is the sad fact of what is going to happen unless we can try and resolve this issue."

Sutcliffe revealed that football's international ruling body Fifa had given written assurances that a UK side in 2012 would not affect the national teams. But he acknowledged "there has always been and will continue to be a threat to that individuality because of the way Fifa is evolving", irrespective of the 2012 issue. The debate was opened by the SNP's Pete Wishart, who said participation in the "meaningless" Olympic soccer competition could jeopardise the future of the Scotland national side. He said: "We should do absolutely nothing that would ever threaten our independent football status.

Liberal Democrat Olympics spokesman Tom Brake backed a joint team but called for "much more solid assurances" from Fifa. Wishart argued that the situation could be remedied by allowing Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland to compete as individual teams.

This idea was backed by former Scotland manager Craig Brown, who was in Westminster Hall to watch the debate. He said: "If there is an insistence on having UK representation, why not allow all four teams to compete? "Football is already a special case in the Olympics because it discriminates by only allowing players under 23 to compete, so why not allow the four sides from the UK?"

Responding to Sutcliffe's comments, Scottish Football Association head of communications Rob Shorthouse said: "As has been made clear time and again, the Football Associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are unified in their opposition to Team GB. "Any politician who continues to push the agenda of a such a damaging venture should do so in the knowledge that they are going against the wishes of the majority of the football family in the UK."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olym...

A British Olympic football team would not jeopardise the international status of the home nations, it is claimed. Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy has gained assurances from Fifa that a one-off under-23 squad in 2012 would not impact on the home teams' standings.

The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all oppose a Great Britain team. Mr Murphy said it was for football people to decide but the SFA said it still saw the idea as a threat. The Scottish secretary told BBC Scotland he had been seeking assurances over the possibility of a GB international team taking part in the 2012 London Olympics.

He said: "I'm a football fan, I'm a Scotland fan, as well as being the secretary of state and I share the concerns that many people had about the impact it might have on the Scottish national team.

"That's why I met Jerome Valcke, the general secretary of Fifa, yesterday and told him about my concerns and the concerns that many Scots have.

"He confirmed that Fifa, of course who regulate football, that the executive will agree that this one-off under-23 tournament could take place and it will not jeopardise the status of any of the home nations and I think that's very welcome news."

Concerns have been raised that a combined British team could affect the status of individual nations within football's governing body Fifa.

SNP MSP Stuart McMillan, a member of the Scottish Parliament's football team, raised comments made by Fifa president Sepp Blatter in March that a GB team would put into question the privileges that the British associations have been given by the world body.

Mr McMillan said: "This is not a guarantee that the independence of the SFA and the other three national associations in the UK will not be threatened by a single UK football Olympic team. "It is not in the gift of officials but all members of Fifa who could take away the SFA's independence."

An SFA spokesman also stressed that Fifa is an organisation made up of its members and it was their views which were important.

He added: "We await with interest the outcome of Fifa's deliberations next month but we must be clear on this. "We will not do anything that we feel would jeopardise our status as a footballing nation in our own right. At this stage, we feel that a Team GB does just that. "At some point, there is a real danger that a precedent of a Team GB will come back and threaten our status as a separate nation."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown supports the idea of a Team GB and last week Tory leader David Cameron suggested a 2012 London Olympics team could be decided by playing a home nations tournament.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/...

The Welsh Football Association says it will not take part in a British Olympic football team for fear of jeopardising Wales' standalone international status.

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy has gained assurances from Fifa that a one-off under-23 squad in 2012 would not impact on the home teams' standings.

"We would do nothing that will jeopardise our position," said Welsh FA secretary general David Collins. "And I believe we have the support of all football fans in Wales."

The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all oppose a Great Britain team. Concerns have been raised that a combined British team could affect the status of individual nations within football's governing body Fifa.

Murphy said it was for football people to decide but the SFA said it still saw the idea as a threat. The Scottish secretary said he had been seeking assurances over the possibility of a GB international team taking part in the 2012 London Olympics.

"I met Jerome Valcke, the general secretary of Fifa, yesterday and told him about my concerns and the concerns that many Scots have," said Murphy. "He confirmed that Fifa, of course who regulate football, that the executive will agree that this one-off under-23 tournament could take place and it will not jeopardise the status of any of the home nations and I think that's very welcome news."

But Welsh football chief Collins told BBC Sport: "That makes very little difference to our stance. "The Fifa president Sepp Blatter made that statement when London were awarded the 2012.

"But it is up to the FIFA congress, comprising its 200-odd member countries, who take that decision. "However, we do not want to jeopardise Wales taking part in the World Cup or European Championships. "And the Football Association of Wales with its sister associations of Scotland and Northern Ireland have been of one voice."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown supports the idea of a Team GB and last week Tory leader David Cameron suggested a 2012 London Olympics team could be decided by playing a home nations tournament.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...