Sir Alex Ferguson’s involvement in a Great Britain Olympic team for 2012 would excite many people but the prospect of a composite home nations side competing at the London Games continued to meet with entrenched opposition from the football associations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland last night.

The authorities, backed to a large extent by supporters, fear that Olympic participation would be the thin end of a wedge leading to Fifa failing to recognise their eligibility to compete independently, despite reassurances that the circumstances in 2012 would be exceptional. The organisations are also concerned that competing in the Olympics would endanger their coveted right to elect between them a Fifa vice-president.

Supporters have voiced concern that their national identities would be subsumed in an England-dominated Great Britain set-up. The Scottish FA has led the protests, and even the involvement of Ferguson, a former Scotland manager, is unlikely to bring it on side.

The SFA plans to prohibit Scottish players from competing. Rob Shorthouse, the SFA’s head of communications, said that their opposition was not negotiable. “Our line on this is quite clear: we’re absolutely opposed to a Great Britain team for two reasons. First, we feel that having a Great Britain team will threaten our independence. Second, supporters’ groups are opposed to it, loud and clear. They simply can’t have a Great Britain team without Scotland.”

The association’s caution comes despite moves by Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, to allay the three associations’ fears that co-operation with a Great Britain team would make them ineligible for the World Cup, and be used as a precedent for pushing through a combined side permanently. Shorthouse said: “With the greatest respect to Mr Blatter, he’s not going to be there much longer. For us, it’s non-negotiable.”

The FA of Wales (FAW), like the SFA, did not even attend meetings with the British Olympic Association (BOA) to discuss the proposal, with David Collins, the FAW secretary, saying that the body would not do anything to jeopardise Wales’s position as a separate entity within Uefa and Fifa.

Opinion has also hardened at the Irish FA. Under the presidency of Jim Boyce, who stood down last year, the IFA did not rule out participating in the Great Britain team. But the IFA’s new regime of Howard Wells, the chief executive, and Raymond Kennedy, the president, has moved closer to the Scottish and Welsh positions. Wells told The Times that he had heard nothing from the BOA in nearly two years. He drew attention to Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, arguing for a Scottish Olympic team. Wells said: “Why don’t we start exploring country representation? It’s a more realistic reflection of where we are, with devolution. It’s time for sport to start looking at what’s happening, and we’re working with devolved government. Football has always worked in a devolved way.”

But the associations’ opposition has drawn criticism from the Olympic establishment. Simon Clegg, the BOA’s chief executive, is adamant that a Great Britain team will take part in the 2012 Olympics. Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, accused the celtic authorities of behaving selfishly in refusing to co-operate, while Tony Blair, when he was Prime Minister, backed a combined team, but acknowledged that it required the agreement of the federations. Richard Caborn, the former Sports Minister, accused the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations of being responsible for a “national scandal” for blocking moves to send teams to the Beijing Olympic Games. Gordon Brown has previously said that he “expected” a Britain team to compete.

The debate has also opened divisions in the football world. Craig Brown, the former Scotland manager, and Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, have clashed over the issue, with Brown being a staunch critic of the plan. Smith has said that Scottish players should make themselves available, while Brown believes that it would eventually deny Scottish players their right to represent their country.

Britain has not competed at the Olympic Games in football since 1960, having won on the first two occasions when international teams competed, in 1908, in London, and in Stockholm four years later.

On two other occasions, Great Britain XIs were fielded for one-off matches. In 1947 this was to celebrate the home nations rejoining Fifa in a match in Glasgow, and again in 1955 to mark the 50th anniversary of Windsor Park in Belfast. In a nod to the host countries, the Britain team wore the blue of Scotland and the green of Northern Ireland in those games.

100 years of hurt - Britain’s Olympic record

Great Britain have not entered the Olympic football competition for more than three decades, but they dominated the event initially. They won gold in the first two official Olympic football competitions, beating Denmark in the decisive match in London in 1908, and in Stockholm four years later.

Britain last reached the finals in 1960 in Italy, where they were eliminated at group level, and their most recent qualifying tournament was for the 1972 Games.

When the FA Council abolished the official distinction between amateur and professional players in England in 1974 – a move made in response to so-called amateur players receiving irregular payments from clubs – it precluded Olympic participation because the event was open only to amateurs.

Professional players were admitted from the 1984 Olympics onwards, but since 1992 all but three of the players in each squad have needed to be aged 23 or under.

Golden generation

So, if Sir Alex Ferguson does lead a Great Britain team at the 2012 Olympics, what sort of talent pool will he pick from? If the political problems with the home FAs can be overcome, they will come from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Who might they be? Picking a team for today is problematic enough, but throw in the fact that all but three of the players have to be teenagers now – anyone else will be too old for the 2012 Games – and it becomes much harder still, but we’ve had a go anyway. Aside from the three overage players allowed, this squad will all be 23 or under in August 2012 when London hosts the Games. The squad includes four Welshmen, two Scots and no Northern Irishmen (Words: Bill Edgar)

Great Britain (4-3-3)

Craig Gordon* Scotland (Sunderland)

Elliot Omozusi (Fulham)
Jack Hobbs (Liverpool)
Lewin Nyatanga Wales (Derby)
Chris Gunter Wales (Tottenham)

Giles Barnes (Derby)
John Fleck Scotland (Rangers)
Gareth Bale Wales (Tottenham)

Theo Walcott (Arsenal)
Wayne Rooney* (Man Utd) (Chelsea)
Scott Sinclair (Chelsea)

Substitutes

Ben Foster* (Man United)
Gavin Hoyte (Arsenal)
Jack Collison (West Ham)
Dan Gosling (Everton)
Mark Randall (Arsenal)
John Bostock (C Palace)
Michael Woods (Chelsea)
Daniel Sturridge (Man City)
Ched Evans, Wales (Man City)
Josh Walker (Middlesbrough)
Andy Carroll (Newcastle)

*over age

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