Olympic Football

Whilst the eyes of the footballing world are firmly fixed upon Poland and Ukraine at the present time, an even bigger sporting event lies just around the corner. The London Olympics promises much. Michael Phelps, the most successful Olympian ever, will look to add to his 14 gold medals in the pool. Usain Bolt will attempt to better 9.58 and talks optimistically of going sub 9.4, and Jessica Ennis will feel the pressure of an expectant nation all around her, like Cathy Freeman and Michael Johnson before her, as she looks to win gold in the heptathlon. Yet for all this excitement and expectation, there is an increasingly unpleasant sideshow that has developed over the past 18 months, the Great Britain Olympic football team.

In an ideal world, sports such as football, tennis, basketball and others would not be in the Olympics. Many argue that the games should remain the exclusive enclave of amateur and not professional sportsman. Personally speaking this is less of an issue for me given the fact that the days of top amateur sportsman are well and truly over and whilst there are notable exceptions the vast majority of top athletes are professional in every meaningful aspect. No, the major issue is that sports whose greatest glory is achieved outside of the Olympic games should not be part of the games. The Olympics is meant to be seen as the defining moment of an athletes career, the very pinnacle of their sport and yet the ultimate achievements in football are World Cups, Copa Americas, league titles and Champions League victories. In tennis, the achievement of  triumphing at Melbourne Park, Roland Garross, SW19 and Flushing Meadows will always be valued above Olympic gold. In basketball an NBA championship is valued above all others, the list goes on.

That is not to say that those who have tasted success in both do not treasure their medal, it is a well known fact that all the top male and female tennis players are relishing the opportunity to win gold on the grass at Wimbledon this summer.

However as previously stated sports such as this are here to stay in the Olympics so those who genuinely hope to see these events removed will be disappointed. To get back to the main point of this piece though is that the Great Britain football team really has no place in this Olympics.

This is the first and will most likely be the last time that GB ever enter a football team into the Olympics, so straight away we have moved from the Olympics being the pinnacle of sport to it being used as a glorified exhibition opportunity. Maybe the next time an American city hosts the Olympics they could ask the Harlem Globetrotters to play. Because that is the equivalent of what this football team represents, especially if, as expected, David Beckham is rewarded for all those sinew stretching, physically exhausting and mentally grueling five years in Major League Soccer. The fact that Beckham will be included is the single biggest indicator of the farcical nature of the GB football team. Whilst many athletes have done everything within their power over the past four years to earn a place at the games, Beckham looks set to be included primarily on the following criteria



1) It will make a fitting tribute to the closing chapter of his career
2) He is originally from the East End and therefore has the chance to play in front of his home crowd
3) He will guarantee a far greater public interest and media attention in the football tournament (because football is so rarely covered and talked about in this country)
4) And finally because with Beckham involved, all those involved now that there is a far greater chance of selling out the Millennium Stadium and Old Trafford etc.

I am aware that this may be reading like a very personal and harsh attack on Beckham himself but that is not the intention whatsoever. Beckham was a good player (yes good, not outstanding and certainly not world class, a legend or any other label of such ilk) and of course he would want to participate in the London Olympics. The point is he should never have been given the opportunity. Lets leave aside the actual existence of the Olympic football team and look at the selection process overall.

Admittedly the situation has been complicated by the regrettable but inevitable decision of the FA to not allow players who have gone to the Euro's to participate. Even still the notion that there are not three more qualified over age players than David Beckham is laughable. It looks increasingly likely that Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs are set to join Beckham in London this summer and one can have few arguments with that as say what you like about them as individuals, they are both still important performers in a top European league, something which cannot be applied to Beckham.

There are too many players to list who would be of far greater value to team GB but it is hard to escape the fact that the policy seems to be less about using the tournament as any kind of learning experience or building process, the powers that be simply want to get bums on seats and put on a show. Not a morally reprehensible act by any stretch of the imagination. But certainly not a true reflection of what the Olympics should be about.


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