Did you know that Great Britain does not have a soccer team in the Olympics? It might seem surprising, given the country's obsession with the sport, but there's a reason for it.
Great Britain doesn't have a soccer team. Scotland, England, and Wales all do, and those teams compete in the World Cup. The Olympics won't let them compete as separate countries.
They don't WANT to have a combined team. It would take away from the pride of playing from one's own country (this is what I'm told).
I'm currently reading the book The English by Jeremy Paxton. It's supposed to be a look into what it means to be English. They don't have a national anthem. They don't fly their flags in front of their houses (St. George--the white background and red cross, not the Union Jack). Yet there is a fierce belief in not sharing their national soccer team.
2 Comments:
I think its good England doesn't have a soccer team at the Olympics. I'm for anything that keeps me from having see Posh Spice on TV.
I think the reason that England competes as England in football is that the Olympics don't really have a separate sports governing body -- the individual sports associations (in this case, FIFA) run their respective sports *AT* the Olympics, it's not that the Olympics run and govern certain activities. Since FIFA recognizes England, Wales, etc., I assume that's why they compete as such.
Interestingly -- and you should get the dates right from Chris -- is that after Germany beat England in the 1982 World Cup Final(?), Margaret Thatcher told her cabinet: "Gentlemen, for the second time this century, the Germans have beaten us at their game. But we should take comfort from the fact that twice this century we have beaten them at theirs."
Best,
-Andy
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