The British Olympic Association (BOA) Chief Executive Andy Anson has called for there to be a Team GB football team for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Anson revealed that a men’s Team GB football team is something he would “dearly love to happen” and is now angling for a team to be created for the next Olympic Games in four years.
He said: “It’s something I would dearly love to happen. I would like to work with the FA, with the Scottish FA, with the Welsh and the Northern Irish FA, if we can make it happen.
“It would be brilliant for football, for youth football and football in general. Seeing the women’s team compete is brilliant and I would love to see the men’s team compete in the same way.”
There has only been one men’s Team GB Olympic football team in the last 50 plus years. This occurred at the 2012 London Olympics, with Manchester United and Wales’ Ryan Giggs captaining the side under coach Stuart Pearce.
However, this remains the only time a men’s team has competed at the Olympics. In the 2020 Tokyo Games, there was a women’s Team GB team that competed consisting of 19 players from England, two from Scotland and one from Wales.
The reason behind the lack of Team GB football involvement at the Olympics comes from the conflicting views from the nation’s footballing bodies.
The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football organisations have been staunchly against the re-formation of a British team as it may lead to losing their independence from FIFA and UEFA by fielding a single team.
But these concerns were quickly put to bed as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were able to continue playing independently following the 2012 Olympics.
Elsewhere, T20 cricket will be added as a new sport in Los Angeles for the first time. Anson spoke on how he is working with UK cricket governing boards to gain the best chance of succeeding at the 2028 Olympics.
He said: “The ECB will be at the centre of that. They’ll have to work with Cricket Scotland to make sure that happens properly. We will help them sign agreements to come together and create a single national governing body, as we have done in those other sports.
“We are working very closely with the ECB to make them become a fully fledged National Olympic Committee member.”
The BOA Chief Executive also expressed his confidence in competing in other sports such as golf, rugby and squash at the Los Angeles Games.
