GB Olympic team is not on Wales’ radar – Noel Mooney
Wales football chief executive Noel Mooney says being part of Team GB sides at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is “not on our radar at all”.
The British Olympic Association said after the Paris Games 12 months ago they wanted a Great Britain men’s football team competing at LA for the first time since London 2012.
Current Wales manager Craig Bellamy was among five Welshmen in Stuart Pearce’s squad who competed on home soil, with Britain ending a 52-year wait to play in an Olympic men’s football tournament.
Captain
A GB women’s team last featured at the Olympics at Tokyo 2020 when then-Wales captain Sophie Ingle was part of a 22-strong squad.
Andy Anson, the former BOA chief executive who stepped down from his role in July, said after Paris that the organisation would plan talks with the Football Associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to recreate a Team GB men’s football side ahead of the LA Olympics.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, however, have long felt that their independence in FIFA and UEFA could be jeopardised if they competed as a single entity in the Olympics.
“The Olympics is not on our radar at all, not at any level,” Football Association of Wales chief Mooney told the PA news agency.
“I’ve not heard a single word about it and never discussed it with anybody.
“We want to focus on Cymru and what we do.”
Opposition
As well as the BOA facing potential opposition from the home Associations, clubs could oppose their players being released to play Olympic football during an increasingly congested calendar.
The LA Olympics officially take place from July 14-30, 2028, although the football competitions actually start two days before the opening ceremony.
The Games will begin within days of the conclusion of Euro 2028 – a tournament co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland – and a few weeks before the new domestic season.
Mooney said: “That (the Olympics) is somebody else’s work I guess, but our job is to make sure we represent ourselves in the right way.
“On and off the pitch, we make sure we represent Cymru the right way. That’s our complete focus.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Don’t be part of it ! The 4 home nations only exist because of a FIFA,’s exception to the rule thar the UK is one team in recognition of the precedent created here of the very first Football Associations and the first international football matches. Apparantly, they don’t like it and would welcome an excuse to do away with the 4 nations and deal with just one. As examples, there are no Catalonia, Gallicia, Basque teams, etc.
Be warned!
Spain, with their deep dislike of separatist movements are always keen to see a single UK team, but most of UEFA isn’t bothered.
Ironically with the some of the Welsh players we’ve had of the years, and some of the Scots, especially Scottish managers it might have been the English feeling pushed out.
Its nothing to do with independence memberships of FIFA per se; otherwise why do FIFA keep admitting new subnational associations, like the Faeroe Islands and Greenland, which are both part of the Kingdom of Denmark? Or, the overseas departments of France?
What FIFA really don’t like is the 4 UK associations having 4 permanent seats, and half the voting power, on IFAB (International Football Association Board):
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Football_Association_Board&ved=2ahUKEwihyq_TlaePAxUmywIHHTp0D18QmhN6BAhqEAc&usg=AOvVaw0BUwSo_vkoyu-3s0Wtvp3q
Good man Mooney. Wales’ sports teams need to be protected from being Britishized. Inclusion would eventually quite likely mean complete assimilation. Surely the direction of travel needs to be the exact opposite of this? Why do Wales and Scotland still not have their own Olympic teams anyway? Our continuing exclusion from the main event is a disgrace. Why on earth do we still put up with it?
Wales and Scotland do not have a separate Olympic team for the same reason that Catalonia, the Kingdom of Sicily or Prussia do not have their own Olympic teams.
The IOC has no objection whatsoever to the 4 UK Nations competing separately in the Olympics the only stumbling block to this is The British Olympic Association who want the status quo.
It’s not in the IOC construction that IOC members must be sovereign states.
Three examples are Palestine,Hong Kong and Puerto Rico.
The IOC changed its rules in 1996 so that only UN-recognised sovereign states could establish new NOCs. Territories like Hong Kong, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Palestine were already recognised before then, so they kept their status. UEFA made a similar change in 2001, limiting ita membership to sovereign states. Gibraltar was admitted later only because its application pre-dated that rule and was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, whereas Greenland applied too late and has had to turn to CONCACAF instead.
I do know that is the status quo my friend. But you’re happy for your own country to be second class, excluded, invisible, then are you Thomas? How pathetically servile, cringeworthy, is that for goodness’s sakes? Get off your knees man! 😉
When are the powers that be, stop banging on about this rubbish. The FAW, are the third oldest association in the world. If we become the GB national side, it will be England in all but name.
Stand firm Noel Mooney. This creeping disease keeps knocking at the door and it needs to be told to go away for good. Players, men and women, need to fully understand that if we let this in, (an exception was made for 2012), there will be no Wales (nor Scotland) teams to play for in the future. This is why we need independence to end this nuance – and nuisance.
Totally agree Noel. Ignore the appeals. But be warned that if Reform do well at the Senedd and UK Elections we will have ‘GB thjs’ and ‘GB that’ rammed down our throats as they’ll seek to bring the Celtic nations under the ‘one country, one nation’ wing of London.
Where is the Welsh National Olympic Team? Time so called United Kingdom was abolished.
Indeed Keith the sooner it’s abolished the better.
Bit of an odd non-committal statement I thought from Mooney. ‘Not on our radar’ and saying nobody’s talked about it are a long way from saying “We’re not doing that”. Olympic football isn’t something I take much interest in. I don’t even know who gets to decide with it being on non-FIFA sanctioned event, if they players decide then that’s up to them. To be honest I think the whole FIFA will make everyone merge if we play football in the Olympics is a bit of a red herring; if FIFA and UEFA wanted to they could force this; they… Read more »
Quote: “The British and Irish Lions has existed for a very long time and doesn’t threaten the existence of independently operating rugby in Wales” Thats no comparison for two reasons: 1) The Lions represent both the UK and the Irish Republic therefore cannot be regarded as a ‘national side’, therefore no precedent can be set. 2) Rugby has a far smaller global profile. It is an elite sport, or closed shop. Were you to scrap England, Scotland, and Wales as separate rugby nations in favour of a British side, it would be economic suicide for the sport. In football, by… Read more »
What we need is a WELSH TEAM in the Olympics a Welsh Eurovision contestant no Welsh team in Commenwealth Games a Welsh seat in the United Nations with Scotland the Same And Northern Ireland reunited with the South and NO ENGLAND sitting in the 5 nations U N security council instead of the U K some new country instead who fought in W W 2 Canada India or New Zealand or Australia any country has the right to govern itself if the People want not for the English to decide
I am so hostile towards any men’s GB football team competing in the 2028 LA Olympics cannot put it into words my distaste. Dim diolch! 🏴✊⚽ #WelshNot 🇬🇧
No question that Wales should explicitly rule out taking part in any Team GB for LA 2028, since joining Team GB would put the national teams at risk. There’s a particular issue for the women’s team – historically the Olympics has been regarded as the pinnacle to aspire to – with Wales now having qualified for the Euros, this is no longer the case and we need to treat the men’s and women’s teams the same
Well said Noel Gareth Bale spoke for a nation when he told them to stuff the Butchers Apron where the sun don’t shine
No thank you
we will win the world cup