[Football] Team GB men’s football team for LA 2028?

[Pavilionaire]

Football has been at the Olympics longer than for diving and at more games than Boxing.

Let’s not forget the World Cup only started in 1930 and ended up usurping the original World Football Championship of the Olympic Games.

Longevity is no excuse for retaining a sport. In addition to football it's high time rubbish like Dressage and Showjumping was consigned to the dustbin, especially when we see the sort of stuff going on behind the scenes like the Dujardin horsewhipping.

 

[Han Solo]

I'm failing to see the validity of that argument, given that the tournament is for U-23 players (on the men's side).

It is indeed the case, and its based on FIFA's greed more than anything else. After repressing the Olympics for decades, they loosened up the rules in the 80s when everyone except World Cup-players were allowed to compete. With the 1988 Seoul tournament being a massive success with great football and plenty of goals, and the 1990 World Cup being labelled as the most boring World Cup of all times, FIFA became paranoid and made sure football at the Olympics wouldn't compete with their own cash cow.

FIFA being greedy isn't a reason to ban football from the Olympics, its a reason to ban FIFA from its omnipotent football power and bring back the best athletes to what could be the best competition.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Completely, 100% disagree, but not going to waste time arguing about it. You'd just go on and on and on.

Steady, that's my job.

Er, and your job

 

[Bry Nylon]

Removing football from a tournament that is ALL ABOUT the best athletes competing in the biggest sports... If football isn't one of those sports, the whole existence of the Olympics is pointless. "Five-a-side" football and the other shit suggested here could perhaps turn it more "interesting", but that as a freak show rather than the greatest sports event.

Disagree Hans

Winning an Olympic medal should be the pinnacle of achievement that your sport can offer.

For the footballers, the World Cup and the Euros (and equivalents) are way more prestigious.

And as for the tennis players and the golfists, the Olympics wasn’t even their biggest tournament that month.

 

[Hamilton]

Horseshit.

Of course the biggest, most famous and most played sports must be at the Olympics!

Plenty of exciting games and good football in this tournament, as is usually the case.

Just because you can't win in it doesn't mean it should be removed. With some 98% certainty the football tournament has spread more joy and excitement than some of the 483 rowing or sailing events that few in here would suggest removing...

Disagree.

We don’t need 11 a side in the Olympics. However as mentioned by others futsal would be great to see and it’s probably a form played by as many who play eleven a side, if not more.

The Olympics doesn’t need Football, Golf and Tennis.

 

[Hamilton]

Football in the Olympics is shit and the concept of a British team is shit. Olympic football is a poor man's World Cup, I didn't watch one single minute.

The Olympics would be better off without 11 a side football altogether. Following Rugby 7s is the way to go - a 5 / 6 a side tournament would be unique, have shorter matches, not f**k up off season preparation.

I watched a minute of the Final and within that minute I heard the national anthems of both teams played at the beginning (which is not something that is done by any other sport at the Olympics), followed by the crowd booing a player that was injured. That felt very un-Olympics and so I turned off. It may have been 5-3 but I just don’t need to see it. Football gets more than enough airtime.

 

[drew]

Why must it be? Football has the World Cup, the euros, African nations etc there is no need for it at the Olympics.
It’s a tournament out on its own away from the main Olympics and the games would cope perfectly fine without it.

But Athletics has their world championships, european championships and diamond league!

For what it's worth, I'd rather see football as an U23 tournament.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

But Athletics has their world championships, european championships and diamond league!

For what it's worth, I'd rather see football as an U23 tournament.

But the Olympics is number 1

 

[lasvegan]

Flag football, can’t wait for that…

 

[highflyer]

This is the case for literally every sport. There's surely some sort of World Rowing Championship so I

 

[Han Solo]

Disagree Hans

Winning an Olympic medal should be the pinnacle of achievement that your sport can offer.

For the footballers, the World Cup and the Euros (and equivalents) are way more prestigious.

And as for the tennis players and the golfists, the Olympics wasn’t even their biggest tournament that month.

Ok, so whenever a sport reaches a certain level of popularity outside the Olympics, it should be removed from the games?

Football - World Cup is more popular in general and since we're doing the eurocentric view here, the Euros are also bigger
Tennis - obviously any Grand Slam is more important
Cycling - Tour de France
Basketball - NBA
Surfing - feck knows
Rugby - I suppose if the kid version is played, the Rugby World Cup is probably bigger
Sailing - some competitions

While none of these are among my favorites at the Olympics, I just don't think it survives as a concept if you remove every sport that gets popular outside Olympic stadiums...

 

[AZ Gull]

Ok, so whenever a sport reaches a certain level of popularity outside the Olympics, it should be removed from the games?

Football - World Cup is more popular in general and since we're doing the eurocentric view here, the Euros are also bigger
Tennis - obviously any Grand Slam is more important
Cycling - Tour de France
Basketball - NBA
Surfing - feck knows
Rugby - I suppose if the kid version is played, the Rugby World Cup is probably bigger
Sailing - some competitions

While none of these are among my favorites at the Olympics, I just don't think it survives as a concept if you remove every sport that gets popular outside Olympic stadiums...

You're making a very sound case that football, tennis and basketball should be removed from the Olympics

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

You're making a very sound case that football, tennis and basketball should be removed from the Olympics

There are enough exceptions to the "Olympics should only be for sports where it's the pinnacle of that sport" line that I don't think it's a strong argument.

My main objection to football at the olympics is that I personally don't give a shit about it (the football, not the olympics).

 

[Han Solo]

You're making a very sound case that football, tennis and basketball should be removed from the Olympics

People would probably be fine with it, for sure. People in Europe/US that is.

I think the desire from South American and African players indicates the status is somewhat different elsewhere - for instance the Cameroon olympic gold medal in football back in 2000 will always be a bigger deal than any AFCON they won.

Thats good enough for me. The world is bigger than Europe/US.

Priority should be to remove sports where only a handful of nations give a shit, imho. Like rugby.

The basic arguments against football, tennis and basketball are that they're too big to be in the biggest sporting event, and sorry I just don't think thats a sensible reasoning. The Olympics should be the greatest of the great, not some sort of bin collection of sports that people can't be arsed to watch normally.

 

[Han Solo]

There are enough exceptions to the "Olympics should only be for sports where it's the pinnacle of that sport" line that I don't think it's a strong argument.

My main objection to football at the olympics is that I personally don't give a shit about it (the football, not the olympics).

Yup and thats the case with others as well - regardless of their attempts to argue for the binning the biggest sport from the biggest sporting event.

You guys like to watch rowing because you can win in it. You don't like team sports at the olympics because you're shite at every single one of them.

Elsewhere its different, and the Olympics are a global phenomenon.

Its unlikely to be revamped as the new Commonwealth Games where England beats the shit out of impoverished colonies in various sports played by three nations.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Yup and thats the case with others as well - regardless of their attempts to argue for the binning the biggest sport from the biggest sporting event.

You guys like to watch rowing because you can win in it. You don't like team sports at the olympics because you're shite at every single one of them.

Elsewhere its different, and the Olympics are a global phenomenon.

Its unlikely to be revamped as the new Commonwealth Games where England beats the shit out of impoverished colonies in various sports played by three nations.

Two quick things:
I like some team sports at the Olympics.

Normally Australia win the most medals the Commonwealth Games. This may or may not be unconnected to them being the only other country with any sort enthusiasm for hosting it nowadays.

 

[Han Solo]

Two quick things:
I like some team sports at the Olympics.

Normally Australia win the most medals the Commonwealth Games. This may or may not be unconnected to them being the only other country with any sort enthusiasm for hosting it nowadays.

They're also the only ones with any sort of enthusiasm for hosting the Olympics, so we're already halfway there!

Remove a couple of the most popular sports in the world and I'm willing to bet there's no Olympics at all in 20 years - despite how allegedly unfun it is to watch football compared to rowing or breakdancing or whatever.

 

[Wozza]

Normally Australia win the most medals the Commonwealth Games. This may or may not be unconnected to them being the only other country with any sort enthusiasm for hosting it nowadays.

Sporting world dismayed by Victoria’s withdrawal as host of 2026 Commonwealth Games

The head of Commonwealth Games Australia has described the decision to pull out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games as ‘absolutely embarrassing’

www.theguardian.com

 

[Wozza]

Disagree Hans

Winning an Olympic medal should be the pinnacle of achievement that your sport can offer.

For the footballers, the World Cup and the Euros (and equivalents) are way more prestigious.

And as for the tennis players and the golfists, the Olympics wasn’t even their biggest tournament that month.

If GB won in 2012, it WOULD have been the pinnacle of Jason Steele’s career!

As for the other sports… Andy Murray says the Olympics was his favourite event.

Djokovic was visibly shaking after winning last week.

Rory McIlroy says it’s his favourite tournament, along with Ryder Cup, and that golf should learn from the Olympics etc etc.

 

[Han Solo]

If GB won in 2012, it WOULD have been the pinnacle of Jason Steele’s career!

As for the other sports… Andy Murray says the Olympics was his favourite event.

Djokovic was visibly shaking after winning last week.

Rory McIlroy says it’s his favourite tournament, along with Ryder Cup, and that golf should learn from the Olympics etc etc.

The Djokovic scenes was indeed beautiful to see. Sure, it was mainly about him not winning that particular trophy before, but still you could see the power in it.

The desire in here to nigelfarage the games comes to no surprise to me but I think IOC will firmly consider global audiences as well, and these want to watch football, tennis and golf more than they want to watch bicycles going round and round in a velodrome.

The Olympics are a global event and people should really accept at as that rather than trying to bend it into something that suits the preferences of a particular nation.

Can't be arsed right now but if I go back to a thread from 2012 when Andy Murray won the tennis title, I don't think I'll find a single soul wanting to remove tennis from the games.