Remembering the GB Football Team Olympics 2012

 

Considering the UK’s obsession with football, it seems ludicrous that we don’t attempt to send a football team to the Olympic games.

However, the logistics of sending a British side to the Olympic football is fraught with difficulty, particularly for the men’s team.

With each of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish footballing bodies needing to agree to it, politics have often proved to be too tough a barrier to cross on that front, but it wasn’t always the case.

Hosting the 2012 Olympics in London opened the door to getting a football team over the line, though it wasn’t all smooth sailing. With that in mind, we’ve taken a look back at the fortunes of the Team GB 2012 men’s Olympic football team.

 

Why isn’t there a GB football team Olympics 2024?

 

To put it simply, it’s all political. With each of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all having their own footballing bodies within UEFA and FIFA, all four associations would have to agree to a British team heading to the Olympics.

There have been long-held fears from the latterly named three nations that their integrity would be threatened if a British side became a regular occurrence, meaning that we have rarely left the starting gates on this front, though there has been more luck on the women’s side of the game in recent years.

Team GB were able to send a women’s side for the rearranged Tokyo Olympics in 2021 thanks to England’s strong run in the 2019 World Cup, reaching the quarter finals. The Lionesses came close to qualifying for Paris 2024, too, but ultimately just missed out to Spain and Germany.

Unfortunately, there has been a stalemate with the men’s side for some time, with London 2012 rather acting as the exception to the rule.

 

Has Great Britain ever had a team at the Olympics before?

 

This may come as a surprise, but Team GB are actually the joint-most successful side in the history of the Olympics alongside Hungary, with three victories apiece.

Admittedly, those wins came long before any of us were born, with Great Britain claiming the gold medal in 1900, 1908 and 1912.

There hasn’t been too much to shout about in the post-war era, with no British side featuring at an Olympic tournament prior to 2012 since 1960.

There hadn’t been too much of an effort to get there, either, with a near 40-year gap between Team GB’s warm up game with Brazil in July 2012 and a 5-1 qualifying loss to Bulgaria ahead of the 1972 Olympics in West Germany.

 

Why were Great Britain able to send a football team to London 2012?

 

The same issues had never really gone away, but the feel-good factor around London 2012 opened the door to the possibility of sending a British football team as hosts.

With Team GB having representation in pretty much every single event at London 2012 – including sports we’re not particularly known for like Water Polo – there was a big national push to get a football team over the line, but it wasn’t an easy process.

The English Football Association gave their blessing to the idea, but there was opposition from each of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations, who were all worried that they would lose their special status within FIFA if they were to release their players.

Despite assurances from the FIFA President at the time Sepp Blatter (who admittedly would go on to contradict himself), a deal was made that would see Team GB comprised of English-only players – though there was nothing to stop non-English players from taking part if they wished.

 

Who was in the GB Football Team Olympics London 2012?

 

Unlike with the women’s tournament, the Olympic men’s football tournament is restricted to under-23 players, meaning that the GB Football Team Olympics 2012 squad was lacking some household names from the time.

The fact that Euro 2012 had taken place earlier in the summer had essentially ruled out most of the high-profile English players from snapping up the three slots available for over 23 players.

That opened the door to some quirky shouts, with David Beckham throwing his hat into the ring on the back of being phased out of the England set-up. He was ultimately overlooked by manager Stuart Pearce however, with those places going to veteran Welsh players Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy as well as the now Sky and BBC pundit Micah Richards!

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the 18-man squad in hindsight was future Football League journeyman Marvin Sordell – who was with Bolton at the time and would go on to have stints at the likes of Colchester United, Coventry City, Burton Albion and Northampton Town before retiring at just 28 back in 2019.

Full Team GB Football Team Olympics 2012 squad: Jack Butland (Birmingham City), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough); Neil Taylor (Swansea City), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Steven Caulker (Tottenham), Craig Dawson (West Brom), James Tomkins (West Ham), Micah Richards (Manchester City); Tom Cleverley (Manchester United); Joe Allen (Swansea), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Jack Cork (Southampton), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Scott Sinclair (Swansea); Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool), Marvin Sordell (Bolton Wanderers).

 

Did GB Football Team Olympics 2012 win gold?

 

With a few heavyweight nations missing from the finals, there was a genuine hope that GB Football Team Olympics 2012 could get a medal at the very least at London, particularly with Manchester United superstar Ryan Giggs captaining the side.

Things didn’t get off to a good start, however, with Team GB suffering warm up defeats to Mexico (1-0) and pre-tournament favourites Brazil (2-0) in the build-up – with the latter’s squad including a certain Neymar. 

Great Britain were handed a group consisting of Senegal, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates and while they didn’t always convince with their performances, they qualified for the quarter finals as group winners with two victories and a draw.

It meant they were just one victory away from guaranteeing themselves a shot at the bronze medal at the very least, facing off against South Korea in Cardiff. Team GB once again lacked fluency however and could only stutter to a 1-1 draw, ultimately losing 5-4 on penalties. You can see the highlights of the quarter-final match here.

 

Will we see a British football team at the 2028 Olympics?

 

It certainly seems unlikely that we will see a men’s team at the Olympics in the near future, probably until Great Britain hosts the event again. However, there is every chance that we will have a women’s side at the next Olympics.

The Lionesses only just missed out on qualification for Paris 2024 when finishing second in their Nations League group last winter, but will be bullish about making amends next time around.

 

By Nick Seddon

 

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