United Kingdom national football team

A British football team exists because of the traditional autonomy of the football associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales not officially, but took until 1972 in part as an amateur team in the Olympics and completed in the postwar period some friendly matches against representative teams in continental Europe. At the Olympic Games in London in 2012 took after a long break, a British team in part that represented the whole kingdom.

Four associations

Unlike other countries there are in the United Kingdom traditionally not a football association, but four:

• The Football Association of England, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man
• Scottish Football Association in Scotland
• Football Association of Wales for Wales
• Irish Football Association for Northern Ireland ( until 1921 all of Ireland )

All four organizations play from their own championships and have their own football team. These four teams are eligible independently for World and European Championships.

Because while there are a British citizen, but no English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish, there is no state definition of who is British, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland. For the four football associations that a Briton can only play in one of the four teams, namely for the association of his home country. As the home country is the part of the United Kingdom, where he, his parents or his grandparents were born. Should this occur several home countries in question, or is the player, his parents or his grandparents born outside the United Kingdom, he can opt for one of the four associations. Since 2009 also provides at least five years of schooling in the corresponding region for player eligibility. Once a player has played one match, a change is no longer possible, appointments for student teams represent an exception.

Former Olympic Team

Since the International Olympic Committee, in contrast to FIFA and UEFA on a team per country, it is not possible for the four British national teams to participate in the Olympic Games.

The football competitions in London in 1908 and 1912 in Stockholm were made ​​and won by the English amateur national team under the name of Great Britain. Then there was until 1960 a British amateur national team that represented the United Kingdom at the Olympic Games. 1964-1972, however, the British team failed to qualify for the Olympic tournaments; in 1976 renounced the United Kingdom to participate.

Participation at the Summer Olympics

Friendship matches in the professional selection

In addition to the amateur team of four associations occurred in the postwar period to a total of three friendly matches against selected teams the rest of Europe. Although in two games also Northern Irish players were used, the teams competed in a non under the name United Kingdom, but under the name of Great Britain. The first game in 1947 was the occasion of the re-entry of the four British associations in FIFA held in Glasgow ( 4-1 ), the second in 1955 for the 75th anniversary of the Northern Ireland Association in Belfast (1:1). The third game was played in 1965 in Stoke -on-Trent instead of ( 6:4).

Olympic Football Tournament 2012 in London

The 2012 Olympics were held in London, and it formed a considerable political pressure that the host country that regards itself as the home of football, was also represented at the tournament. The four football associations reacted differently to this proposal. While England and Northern Ireland agreed in principle to Wales behaved rather dismissive. In contrast, the Scottish Football Association rejected a British professional team strictly and did not participate in the discussions. It was feared that putting up a British national could soften the special status of the four British football associations.

In June 2011 was finally decided that both the men and the women a British team would compete, which should be composed of all four associations. Before that FIFA had assured that participation in the Olympic football tournament would have no effect on the four British associations autonomy and independence. The organization of the Team GB team was up to the British Association FA. Players who participated in the Euro 2012, should not be considered for the British Olympic team.

On July 2, 2012 Stuart Pearce named the 23-man squad. He included the one hand English U-21 players and on the other hand, some (older) Welsh players who had not yet participated in any EM or World Cup finals. Was not nominated David Beckham, who had made hopes for a nomination because he had used prior to the award of the Games to London. Oldest player of the squad was Ryan Giggs, who made his last international game for Wales in 2007. With goalkeeper Jack Butland, the youngest player in the squad, also a player of the English Championship squad was taken into account, but which was not been used at the European Championships. In contrast to the women's team no Northern Irish and Scottish players have been considered.

Games

For the Olympics Great Britain was set as group head of the group A and the Senegal, Uruguay, and the United Arab Emirates randomly assigned. The three group games ended the Team GB with two wins and a draw and moved as group winners to reach the quarter -finals. There it held to a draw against South Korea, so that it came to the penalty shootout, which lost the British team and thus continued the tradition of the English teams.