To follow on from my previous post (which, as explained therein, was written some time ago) I will begin by reiterating my beliefs that a) football should not be an Olympic sport and b) that the UK should not enter a joint football team into the London 2012 Olympics. From these viewpoints I have not altered. It may have been a subject I was already slightly weary of when I wrote that piece but even now it is still something I feel strongly about.
Why does it matter so much to me that Scotland retains its footballing independence?
As a proud Scot and a football fan the only national team I could ever truly support is Scotland. I simply could not feel the same way about a UK team; it would ruin international football for me. I do not feel British nor do I identify with the notion of Britain or Britishness in any way. To me the United Kingdom is a political entity and nothing more. Scotland is a nation and hence my nationality is Scottish – despite what my passport says.
However, I would certainly not describe myself as a nationalist (I am indifferent to the idea of Scottish independence politically) and I say none of this out of disregard for the rest of the UK. I am happy to witness the success of all UK athletes at the Olympics (although, admittedly, it is not an event that inspires fervent passion in me) and in the past I have willed on Tim Henman at Wimbledon and backed Matthew Syed in table tennis competitions.
But these are individuals, football is a team sport and my team is Scotland. I believe the Scottish Football Association have legitimate fears that if Scottish players feature as part of Team GB at the Olympics it could put our national team’s future at serious risk. We have always had our own football team and to gamble that over a meaningless, age restricted tournament seems like grave foolishness.
I have little doubt that FIFA would quite like to unite the UK teams, our independent status is viewed by many outsiders as a privilege and one that some would have no qualms about taking away. A united footballing UK would grant FIFA more power too as no more would the “home associations” have such dominance on the International Football Association Board or such influence within FIFA itself – where they are guaranteed one of the eight Vice-President spots. On the specific issue of how Team GB could affect the Home Nations’ independence FIFA have sent out mixed signals and have in no way offered a guarantee that we would not be putting it in jeopardy were we to compete united at the Olympics. And even if they were to offer one, would anyone trust them?
The FAW (Football Association of Wales) and the IFA (Irish Football Association) have similar anxieties to the SFA which I, of course, empathise with. In the past fortnight photos have emerged of Welsh players Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey sporting the Team GB football kit. I’m sure the sight of these images will have made a few Welsh supporters feel uneasy, and not just because the shirt in question is rather hideous. I’d bet the players don’t quite grasp either the gravity of the situation or the strength of feeling amongst their own supporters. These things must be explained to them, and I believe Gary Speed has indicated that he will talk to the Welsh players about it – hopefully Craig Levein does likewise with the Scotland squad.
No Scotland internationals, to my knowledge, have been as forthright in stating their willingness to play as part of Team GB as Bale and Ramsey have but some players, including Rangers youngsters Gregg Wylde and Kyle Hutton, have conceded they would be open to the possibility.
I can only hope that between now and whenever Stuart Pearce selects his Olympic squad that the SFA makes its stance crystal clear to Scottish players, makes them aware of the dangers and advises them not to be selfish and to not rank personal ambitions ahead of a nation’s passion.
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