Fifa calls for Team GB agreement

Published on Thursday 26 March 2009 21:58

FIFA has ordered the four home nations to come to a joint agreement over a Great Britain football team at the London 2012 Olympic Games as soon as possible.

Football's world governing body this week wrote to the four associations saying they need to end the impasse over the issue.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter is adamant there must be a Great Britain team at the London Games, which means Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – who insist they want no part in one – having to give the go-ahead to England representing the host nation on their own.

In return, the Football Association would almost certainly have to promise that they would only select English players for the team.

Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith said: "Fifa have written to us in the last couple of days saying that we need to have a joint agreement by the four nations about what happens at the London Olympics."

Meanwhile, Smith insisted no decision had been taken about whether the SFA would sanction Scottish players who wanted to take part in an Olympic team. "We have not said they would or wouldn't be sanctioned – that has still to be discussed," he added.

The most likely scenario looks to be the FA agreeing to pick only English players – it is understood they sympathise with the difficulties that would face young Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish players if they were asked to go against the wishes of their own association.

Once the joint agreement is in place, the FA could then get on with the business of considering who would be the manager.