Britain will enter a team in the 2012 London Olympic soccer competition and its presence will not be detrimental to the status of the four home associations, FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirmed on Thursday.
British teams for all Olympic sports are theoretically made up of athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, countries which have had a privileged position in the world of soccer for more than half a century with individual seats on FIFA's rule-making international board.
The country has not competed in an Olympic soccer tournament since 1960, although it tried to qualify as recently as 1972, initially because of fears that a combined team would open the door for the removal of the cherished status of the individual FAs, sanctioned by FIFA after World War Two.
Olympic qualification has been impossible in recent years because it is based on FIFA's under-21 competitions in which the four home nations compete individually.
With London hosting the 2012 Games, however, Britain gets automatic qualification and Blatter has told British Olympic officials that a combined team can take part with no threat.
"We have confirmed in writing that they have to provide a Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympics but the four British associations will not lose the rights and privileges acquired back in 1947," Blatter told reporters on Thursday.
"It will be one team but it is up to them how they do it," Blatter added, saying it could be a combined team or one of the home unions representing the whole.
Blatter met leading figures from the English FA as well as interested Government parties on Thursday when the 2012 issue was discussed. He said he was able to assure them that, despite the disgruntlement of many federations around the world, the four countries' right to continue to compete separately was enshrined in FIFA's statutes.
Olympic soccer, formerly an amateur event, is currently played between under-23 teams with three over-age players allowed.
© 2024 Rediff.com -