Origins The FA was formed in London 1863, when thirteen teams met to draw up a shared
rule list for football, in order to facilitate matches between clubs. The question of the geographical remit of this organisation does not appear to have been asked, with the FA being formed before the rise of international football. The
first football matches between national teams were arranged by the FA, who invited English and Scottish players to form representative teams. Within a year, the
Scottish Football Association (SFA) was founded to facilitate these matches, and to organise football in Scotland more broadly. The third national football association, the
Football Association of Wales was founded in 1876 and a fourth, the
Irish Football Association, (IFA), was founded in 1880. The practice of playing internationals between the four
countries of the United Kingdom (also known as the
home nations) was thus developed before football associations were developed elsewhere in the world and, no 'United Kingdom football association' was ever formed. Some sources continue to refer to this team as the
England national amateur football team, Although the team competed as the United Kingdom and are listed as such, the official match report refers to "the English team". The Scottish Football Association passed a resolution to "protest against one National body in the British Isles being termed the United Kingdom, or playing as such without the consent of the other three National Associations". The resolution was read at the next meeting of the
International Football Association Board. In response, "[t]he Football Association representatives explained that this was the name given by the authorities, and that so far as the Football Association was concerned they had nothing to do with the matter. The Scottish Association were satisfied with this answer." At the 1908 Olympics, "Great Britain and Ireland" won all three of their matches, defeating
Sweden and
Netherlands in the first two rounds. They met
Denmark in the final, defeating them 2–0 with goals from
Vivian Woodward and
Frederick Chapman. match where Great Britain won its second Gold after beating
Denmark 4–2 The team repeated this success at the
1912 Games. Again, Britain won all three matches and defeated Denmark in the final, this time 4–2. Woodward, who scored in the previous final, was captain for this tournament. At the
1920 Summer Games, Britain lost in the first round in a surprise defeat to
Norway. Britain had played only
amateur players, while other nations selected their team from all available players. The tournament formed part of a rift which developed between the FA, who wanted the Olympics to remain an amateur only competition, and FIFA, who were keen on having a full football world championship. This resulted in the FA leaving FIFA, as well as withdrawing from the
1924 and
1928 football tournaments. Eventually, however, an agreement was reached in which the Olympic football tournament would be for amateur players only, with the
FIFA World Cup created to include all players, professional and amateur.
1948–1972: Post war tournaments Following the
Second World War, Great Britain competed in all Olympic football tournaments from
1948 through to
1972. The
1948 tournament, which was hosted in
London, was the team's most successful. By this time, it was recognised that Britain's amateur players were not of the same quality as they had been in earlier years, due to the rise of the professional game. By contrast, teams in nations which had not yet developed professional leagues were able to field their strongest sides.
Wembley Stadium hosted Great Britain's final two matches, though they also played at
Craven Cottage and
Highbury. After 1948, Great Britain were never a significant threat at the Olympics again. They were eliminated after losing their opening match to
Luxembourg in
1952, The squad was again selected from all of the home nations, with matches between the national amateur sides being used to choose a best 19. In 1974, the Football Association stopped recognising a distinction between
professionals and
amateurs, with all player subsequently registered simply as 'players', whether paid or unpaid. This ended the existence of the
England amateur team, which had always been the basis for the British Olympic team. As such, the FA stopped entering a football team into Olympic competition.
1976–2008: Absence from the tournament For the
1984 Summer Olympics, professional footballers were allowed to compete at the Olympics for the first time. Initially, European and South American teams were banned from playing players who had competed in the
FIFA World Cup, but from the
1992 Summer Olympics eligibility for all nations was restricted to players aged under 23, except that three players of any age are allowed in the squad. Scotland would have qualified for the Summer Olympics football tournament twice in succession, having also finished fourth in the
1992 edition. The
Scottish Football Association (SFA) opposed the idea of the Scotland team being sent to the Olympics as they would have had to participate as Great Britain, which the SFA considered would have jeopardised the independent status of Scottish national teams. England would have qualified for the 2008 Olympics by reaching the semi-finals of the
2007 Under–21 Championship, but a team was not entered.
Italy took their vacated place by winning a play-off match against
Portugal.
Reformation for London 2012 Due to the success of the
London 2012 Olympic bid, the United Kingdom gained the right to enter a team in the football tournament as host nation. The
British Olympic Association (BOA) stated it would enter a football team, and the
Football Association of Wales (FAW) withdrew from the negotiations. The
Irish Football Association (representing Northern Ireland) stated in October 2007 that they would not take part in a unified team, leaving
the Football Association (England) as the only association willing to take part. The SFA's opposition to the plans were rooted primarily in the fear that the Home Nations would be forced to field a combined team in all competitions. Various fans, politicians and sports-people all gave their opinions with regards to the creation of a team. A 2005
opinion poll published by the BOA claimed that a majority of Scots supported the creation of a British team for the 2012 Olympics. A joint statement issued by the official fan clubs of all four Home Nations voiced their opposition to the plan. Various prominent politicians also offered their opinion as to whether there should be a British team in the 2012 Olympics.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated during the 2008 Olympics that he wanted a British team and would work towards that happening, although he acknowledged that it could affect the autonomy of the Home Nations.
First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond then stated his opposition to a British team, arguing that Brown must be "seriously out of touch with Scotland" to support it.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter initially assured each of the British Associations that their status would not be affected by fielding a combined team in 2012. The SFA refused to change its position, arguing that Blatter's personal opinion and permission might not matter once he has left office, and that they did not wish to jeopardise their status.
UEFA chief executive
David Taylor, a former chief executive of the SFA, said in August 2008 that a British Olympic team would threaten the existence of the individual home nations. Taylor also said that the unique status of the Home Nations had come under attack before from other FIFA members, and that it was "difficult to see what guarantees could be given" to protect that status. From the world of sport,
world 400 m hurdles champion Dai Greene said that he felt that there should not be an Olympic football tournament because the Olympics is not the pinnacle of that sport.
Sebastian Coe, the director of the 2012 Olympics, regularly spoke out in support of the team. A compromise was eventually reached between the four associations, whereby a squad of English players only would represent the United Kingdom. The football associations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales sent a joint letter to FIFA stating that they would not participate, but that they would not object to England participating alone. and the SFA admitted that it would have no legal grounds to prevent Scottish players from participating. It was then confirmed that the FA intended to select players from outside England.
Pre-tournament preparations The FA announced in October 2011 that
Stuart Pearce would be the manager. After this announcement, Pearce drew up an initial long-list of players who he wanted to consider for the squad, and wrote to all of these players to inform them of his choice. Pearce said that players who did not want to be included would be able to inform him of their wishes at that stage. In January 2012, it was revealed that 191 players had been contacted, with 7 declining to be considered for the team. A further cut was announced in April 2012, with the shortlist of eligible players reduced to around 80. The final pre-tournament cut occurred in early June, when a squad of 35 players was submitted to FIFA. Great Britain were placed in group A for the Olympic tournament prior to the draw. The draw was held on 24 April 2012 and added
Uruguay,
United Arab Emirates and
Senegal to Great Britain's group. The final 18-man squad for the Olympic Games was announced on 2 July 2012. The team then played one official friendly match, against
Brazil at the
Riverside Stadium in
Middlesbrough on 20 July, which was won 2–0 by Brazil.
Olympic tournament at the
Millennium Stadium Great Britain's first match was a 1–1 draw with
Senegal at
Old Trafford in
Manchester on 26 July.
Craig Bellamy scored for Great Britain in the first half, but
Pape Moussa Konaté scored the equaliser for Senegal from a
counter-attack in the 82nd minute. Their second match was a 3–1 win against the
United Arab Emirates at
Wembley. A
Ryan Giggs header put Great Britain in the lead, before
Ahmad Ali equalised.
Scott Sinclair regained the lead with his first touch of the game after coming on as a substitute, and minutes later, fellow substitute
Daniel Sturridge chipped the UAE's goalkeeper to make it 3–1.
2016–present: Negotiations for permanent reformation During the 2012 tournament some players such as
Ryan Giggs and some members of the British Olympic Association expressed a desire to enter a football team in future Olympics. After Great Britain's elimination from the 2012 Olympics, there were no public plans to reform the team for future Olympic Games, with Alex Horne, chief-executive of the FA, stating that the FA would not support a future men's football team at the Olympics. The problem facing any possible future Great Britain team is that there is no mechanism for it to qualify, as the individual home nations compete in the qualifying competition. In 2015, the
England under-21 coach
Gareth Southgate and the FA Director of Elite Development Dan Ashworth established as FA policy that the Olympic tournament is a valuable experience for underage players. The FA subsequently advised the other home nations that they intended to enter teams in 2016, if either or both of the England teams met the qualification standard. This suggestion was opposed by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations. The FA then advised the other home nations that they would not enter teams, with the Scottish FA saying that the FA had "underestimated" opposition to the plan. After Team GB did not enter a team at the 2016 Olympics, British Olympic Association chief executive Bill Sweeney expressed his disappointment and said talks would take place to try to field teams for the
2020 Tokyo Olympics. British Olympic Association vice-chairman and former sports minister
Sir Hugh Robertson further stated: "From the British Olympic Committee's perspective, we would love to see Team GB football", whilst new
England senior team manager
Sam Allardyce stated: "To turn it down is a great shame. It's something we may look at in the future and try to compete in." FIFA subsequently approved the idea of a Great Britain team for the 2020 games, but opposition from the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish FAs continued. FA chief executive Martin Glenn established that previous concerns over the existence of a team were no longer a concern, stating: "The big fear in the past was that if we did it we would jeopardise our independent country status. But that was sorted out under [former FIFA president Sepp] Blatter actually and
Gianni Infantino has reinforced it." Following Tokyo 2020,
Sky Sports reported that the
British Olympic Association had hoped to have a men's team at
Paris 2024. However, nothing came of this, as no confirmation of Great Britain either competing or not competing, despite
England finishing in a qualification spot at the
2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Following the conclusion of the Paris 2024 Olympics, negotiations restarted for Great Britain to be brought back from hiatus for
Los Angeles 2028. Contrary to earlier reports, the chief of the
Football Association of Wales Noel Mooney dismissed the notion that talks had begun and stated that even if they had "our focus is very much here on Wales playing at tournament". == Criticism ==