MAN - Homo Sapiens - is a competitive animal. Right from the days of the hunter-gatherers, when the ancestors of modern man crossed from what is now Africa into Europe and began to over-take the Neanderthals, man has competed: for territory, for water, then for basic raw materials, for markets for the goods he has produced, for the best women, the best animals, the best houses, for greater financial security, in religion for the greater number of souls even. Often this competition has led to bloodshed, to the great, global wars of the 20th century.
In the 21st century world, sport is now where man competes hardest, at the top level - the Olympic Games, the World Cup and so on, sport is effectively war without bullets. Allegedly the United Kingdom's view of its self-worth will be somewhat lessened if we do not promote a "great" Olympic Games in London and if 'Team GB' does not finish with a load of gold medals and a lofty place in the table of successful nations.
Towards this end, a lot of money has been flung at London 2012; sports such as handball, which are not played widely in this country are suddenly enjoying hitherto undreamt-of resources and backing.
All of these Olympic sports have a common-purpose, they are all in the UK run as far as the Olympic Games are concerned run by single-minded people who want the best for Team GB.
The English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh Hockey Unions compete against each other internationally, but once every four years, they unite behind Team GB, and that is how it should be.
It may be that the hockey squad, or the basketball squad, or the volleyball one or the badminton one is almost-entirely or wholly English. It is certain that the curling squads for the next Winter Olympics two years hence will be 100 per cent Scottish, but, these squads will go into action backed totally by BRITISH bodies. The players will not be representing England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales, but Team GB, the team which represents the entire United Kingdom.
Then there are the two football squads for London 2012. They are not seen as representing the whole UK. They will be the answer to that mocking terracing chant: "Are you England in disguise?" For that is what they will be.
Perhaps (unless his agent and current and future clubs can persuade him that to play might jeopardise a life-changing move to Barca or Real Madrid) Gareth Bale of Wales will play; there might be a place for Barry Bannon in the Men's squad and Kim Little and Jenny Beattie in the Women's - but, be in no doubt, the two Team GB football squads will be "England in Disguise". They are being organised by the English, managed by the English and I dare say, somewhere down the line during matches one of the commentators will refer to Team GB as "England" and nobody will bat an eyelid.
That is because, alone of the 30-odd Olympic sports (summer and winter) Football hasn't set-up a UK-wide management body which is acceptable to the English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh FAs and to their fans - that is the glaring weakness in the running of the Team GB squads in this sport.
I wish every Team GB athlete well, I will support them. Should Barry Bannon score the gold medal-winning goal, I will rejoice for him. I cannot join the ranks of those already, even before his selection for the final squad has been announced, rushing to demand that he never again be picked for Scotland. There will be two or three Scots, for instance in the basketball squad - nobody is doubting their patriotism. Is Andy Murray any less Scottish because he will be representing Team GB in tennis? Of course not.
But, I have done before, am about to do so again and surely will again in the future, condemn the SFA for their craven mis-management of the whole London Olympic Games issue.
It is written in black and white - plainly and without ambiguity in the FIFA rule back, that the Team GB football squads are being organised contrary to FIFA rules.
In the FIFA Articles on the governance of the game, Article 8/3 clearly states that if a club or member (in this case the FA) is selecting a "scratch" team, then they cannot select players under the jurisdiction of another member (in this case the FAW, IFA or SFA) without the permission of that body. To do otherwise is a clear breach of that FIFA rule. For the Olympic Games squads are clearly "scrathc" teams. No other competition has the same selection criteria as the Games; and it has been clear fromt he outset this is a one-off case of picking squads for the London games alone.
The FAW, IFA and SFA have all said: "We do not want you to pick our players; we have no objection to 'Team GB' squads composed entirely of English players, but we are against multi-national squads".
The (English) FA accepted this and were prepared to go along with it, until rail-roaded into a multi-national squad by the British Olympic Association, who insisted 'Team GB' had to be selected from all four nations.
This by the way was in direct contradiction of their own selection rules. The BOA selection rules make it clear, each individual body for each individual sport makes-up its own selection policy and if the BOA doesn't like what they suggest - then that sport doesn't compete. But, in this case, London wants football at the Games, so, regardless of the many: "Don't go there" warnings they have had, the BOA has sailed down the illegal route of the FA illegally picking Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh players.
The Northern Irish, we Scots and the Welsh have based out objections to a pan-UK selection policy on the perceived threat to our century and more of international football independence. The three Celtic FAs fear they will be forced into a pan-UK football association, which will doubtless be called, with British arrogance, since we allegedly invented the game, THE FA.
Such a body will be dominated by England, so the three Celtic bodies don't want it, while there is some resistance in England to having the Jocks, the Paddies and the Taffs invade their long-established club.
There are a band of other countries who bitterly resent that there are four separate countries playing international football, whose teams all share a common passport. The mutterings about the UK having four places on FIFA never quite go away, that is fact.
But, I do not see there being an immediate short or medium term threat to the international footballing independence of the four Home Nations, as they are known. UEFA likes the way it has added FAs since the break-up of the USSR and the old Warsaw Pact nations, they will not allow four to become one.
The real target is the four Home Nations' individual places on IFAB - the International Football Association Board - football's supreme law-making body. The four Home Nations were gifted this right when they rejoined and bailed-out the bakrupt FIFA in 1946.
Sixty-six years on, it is maybe time for a bit of British magnanimity. Perhaps they ought to give away two of the four seats, hand one to UEFA, the largest of the various FIFA geographic combinations, the other to FIFA itself. By this simple action they would win badly-needed friends and greater influence.
Of the other two, surely they could agree between themselves to have say the SFA and the Welsh FA hold the places for five years, then the Irish and English for five years and so on.
Doubtless the English will insist since they "invented" football, or more-properly, first codified the laws, they ought to have one of the places permanently, with the other passing between the three Celtic FAs in turn. It would little harm the four bodies.
In return, perhaps the FA would agree to setting-up a proper UKFA purely to run the Olympic Games participation, then more young British footballers could enjoy the Olympic Games experience in the future and London 2012 would not be a one-off.
Then we could all enjoy the Games without rancour, until Wee Eck leads us to the Promised Land of Independence. But, that's another matter.
But, right now, the Olympic Games football issue is a mess, the selection policy is in breach of FIFA rules, it, however remotely, threatens Scotland's international football independence.
WHY hasn't the SFA quoted FIFA rule 8/3 and put a stop to the whole stupid issue? and why will they not tell us why they refuse to act?
No comments:
Post a Comment