Olympics row over Great Britain team rumbles on as FA stand firm

The Football Association insist they have letters from the other home nations accepting their right to select Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish players for British Olympic football teams.

The three other home associations are adamant they are not party to the “historic agreement” announced by the British Olympic Association on Tuesday.

FA general secretary Alex Horne said: “We have been very clear since the Olympic games were awarded to London that the FA is committed to Team GB football teams.

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“We have been flexible in working with the BOA and other home nations regarding the makeup and selection for these teams being a collective of all home nations, or all English sides.

“It is clear that under the Olympic Charter there has to be a non-discriminatory selection process for all players. These are not the FA rules.

“We are sensitive to the concerns of the other home associations in relation to each of our individual identities, and we have been assured by FIFA there is no threat to each association. However, as an organisation the FA has been mandated by the BOA to organise a men’s and women’s team for the 2012 Olympic football tournament across the UK.

“All three associations have notified us in writing that they acknowledge that legally we are entitled to support the BOA in the selection process.”

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The sale of 1.7m Olympic football tickets will begin tomorrow but the BOA insist that has “absolutely no bearing” on the timing of their announcement.

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan said he had emailed Horne as recently as Monday night stating their opposition and was stunned to see Tuesday’s announcement.

Former Yorkshire County Cricket Club chief executive Regan said: “I sent Alex Horne an email saying we could not support or endorse the Team GB but that we recognised from a legal position we couldn’t stand in the way of a player opting to play for Team GB. I asked if we could be kept in the loop so to see an announcement made came as a shock to me and all the other associations. None of us knew this was going to happen.

“We are very surprised and disappointed.”

Craig Brown believes opposition to a Great Britain football team is down to a simple lack of trust in FIFA.

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Former Scotland manager Brown has backed Regan and claimed their fears were corroborated by the late David Will, former SFA president of the SFA and vice-president of FIFA.

“It’s quite a harsh thing to say but I do think there is a lack of trust in the FIFA organisation,” said Brown.

“Over the years there has been suspicion of the motives of FIFA and of course they would like to have one vote for Britain instead of four votes. The main argument is that Scotland would lose its identity.

“I think the feelings are that FIFA are desperate to combine the home nations and make it a Great Britain team and there would be no separate England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland teams.

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“When this issue first arose a few years ago the late David Will wrote to me and I still have the letter.

“He more or less said you could trust FIFA at the moment but successive committees and maybe a new president eventually, could change the whole thing.

“So it wouldn’t be a binding commitment, it would be a temporary one. And I do genuinely believe that that’s the case.”

“I’m absolutely sure it’s not an Olympic issue, it’s a FIFA issue,” added the Aberdeen manager. “It’s fear of what will happen if we agree to amalgamate for that one-off tournament.”

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A ‘long list’ of players from across Britain will be drawn up by the managers of the men’s and women’s teams, and the players each asked to confirm their availability. An announcement of the two squads of 18 players will be made in the summer of 2012.

The BOA could cash in on sales of replica Team GB football shirts from the London 2012 Games to solve their financial issues.

The BOA have the rights to two pieces of “iconic” Team GB merchandise under their deal with London 2012 organisers and have confirmed that could include replica shirts of the British football teams.

The deal could be worth millions to the BOA, who are expected to make a financial loss this year.

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BOA communications director Darryl Seibel said: “We have not made a decision as to what the two items will be. We have looked at a number of items and ruled a few out, but we have not made a final decision which they will be. We have a range of options.”

The football shirts and replica kits will be manufactured by adidas, who are the official provider of the kit for all Team GB teams and sports.

The value of such merchandise can be measured by last year’s winter Olympics in Vancouver, where organisers sold 3.5m pairs of their branded red mittens for 10 Canadian dollars (£6.35) each.

Sales of replica football shirts may not achieve those figures but the profit margins will be considerably bigger and could provide a huge financial boost to the BOA.

What’s involved for London 2012

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Both a men’s and women’s team will play at London 2012, and will be the first time a British men’s football team has played at the Olympics in 52 years.

The men’s team will have 18 players: 15 Under-23s and three “open age” players. David Beckham, who has won 115 senior caps for England, has already confessed he is keen to be involved, saying he would “love to be part of it” as a player rather than in any coaching capacity.

The women’s team also has 18 players but no age restrictions.

The managers have still to be chosen.

Player evaluation and the selection process is due to begin in the autumn, developing a “long list” of potential players, as identified by the Team GB managers.

There are still more than 1.7m Olympic football tickets available for supporters.