London 2012: Stuart Pearce hopes Welsh back Olympic Team GB

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Beckham's Olympics omission explained by Stuart Pearce

Coach Stuart Pearce hopes his Team GB football side will not be booed by Welsh fans who are against a British Olympic team at London 2012.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) opposes Team GB, fearing an all-British squad could threaten its independence with world governing body Fifa.

Some Welsh fans protested against Welsh players competing for Team GB in last November's

"We hope that everyone gets behind this team," said Pearce.

The FAW, along with the Scottish and Northern Irish associations, does not want a Team GB despite reassurances from Fifa that supporting the team poses no threat to their future as separate international entities.

The Welsh FA, though, has said it would not stop Welsh players from taking part and - including three past and present Wales captains - have been selected for Pearce's 18-man squad.

Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale was expected to be included but he

Ryan Giggs, who retired from international duty in 2007, Craig Bellamy, Joe Allen, Neil Taylor and current skipper Aaron Ramsey will feature in a competition that starts against Senegal at Old Trafford on 26 July.

Team GB will play the United Arab Emirates at Wembley before their final Group A game against Uruguay in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 1 August - and Pearce does not want an adverse reaction in the Welsh capital.

"I don't think I have ever seen an Olympic Games where the home team has been booed, and I would hate that to be us," he said.

"We have bought into the Olympic ideal and I've given players from every nation due diligence, which has ruled out everything bar footballing ability.

"There is some real quality to come in from Wales and I'm absolutely delighted with their reaction that they want to be involved.

"They have shown me they want to be part of this and are very excited by it.

"It can only benefit the players and if it benefits the players it will benefit Wales.

"I think Wales have got a fantastic clutch of players going forward. I don't see a negative anywhere across the board."

Pearce insists he has been in regular contact with Wales manager Chris Coleman as he selected a squad to represent Great Britain in the football competition for the first time since the 1960 Olympics, but the FAW has made no comment since four current Welsh players were selected.

The Olympic football final at Wembley on 11 August is just four days before Wales' final 2014 World Cup qualifying warm-up against Bosnia in Llanelli on 15 August and seven days before the opening day of the Premier League season.

A new three-part 'Wales at the Olympics' documentary starts on BBC One Wales on Tuesday at 22:35 BST. The show will be available for seven days on BBC iPlayer.

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  • 45. It is politics, if we left IFAB this would be a non-issue, but none of the home nations are prepared to do that. FIFA members may well vote in 2013 to give us an ultimatum "Stay on IFAB but enter our competitions as Team GB from now on, or we'll let you play individually as before...but you leave IFAB first".

    We are giving IFAB to them on a plate, waving our Team GB flags as we go.

  • That's very misleading, the truth is that only Valcke and Blatter have offered a half-hearted verbal reassurance, which was only given when pressed during media interviews about other matters. This belief that FIFA have officially given the 'thumbs-up' is a media perpetuated myth.

  • The idea that the Scots weren't selected for footballing reasons is absolute nonsense.

    The SFA has opposed Team GB every step of the way as is threatens to remove the independence of our home nations teams- only the English who see their nationality as a synonym with Britishness haven't recognised the issue.

    Furthermore, Jordan Rhodes is the best u23 prospect in Britain, and he's Scottish.

  • I'm a Swansea City fan, and even though 3 players are included, NOTHING is more important than the survival of our international football team - Wales. The Football Supporters Federation Cymru, The Football Supporters Federation England, The Association of Tartan Army Clubs and Green and White Army are all opposed to TEAMGB not for politics but for obvious reasons, and that is good enough for me.

  • "I have a lot of respect for what the British have done for more than 100 years, but football has moved on and it is our duty and obligation to decide if the privileges are still justified in our time and age"

    - FIFA's Theo Zwazinger in May 2012 talking about a congress FIFA will hold to discuss changes in 2013. The composition of IFAB will be on the agenda.

  • 29. Sorry but your facts are incorrect. IFAB vote on the rules of the game itself, not the composition of the home nations. FIFA could easily refuse the home nations' applications to play competitively in the 2018 World Cup unless they enter as Team GB...entry rules for which are wholly down to FIFA.

  • I believe that the policy of non co-operation of both the Scottish & N Irish Associations was adopted in their own best interests. FIFA are recognised as one of the most corrupt organisations on the planet. Blatter would sell his soul to maintain his position.
    FIFA will force the merger of the FA’s of the South British nations. The top Welsh clubs are already part of the English pyramid.

  • Funny how there's no first team players from either England, Scotland or N.I.... maybe they put helping their country qualify for Rio2014 before some near pointless youth exhibition tournament.

    The 5 Welsh players decisions has cost them a lot of respect in Wales, I hope their selfish short sighted actions don't cost Welsh football a whole lot more.

  • Cannot believe some of the garbage remarks I read below by so called Welshmen. We should support the Welsh lads and GB team whole heartedly.As for the FAW of Wales and their stance, and come to that Irish and Scottish FA's, they have lost the plot totally if they think one Olympic tournament is going to affect their so called Independence.
    Finally well done to Swansea City for their contingent.

  • It is not really Team GB, it is basically England, with the England under 21 manager cherry picking the best of the Wales players, so enough of this rubbish about GB. Northern Ireland and Scotland are not representted. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England compete as individual nations in almost every other major sporting competition, so why not in the Olympics? No to team GB!

  • The sentiments of the comments here should answer Pearce; there will be plenty of people (i.e. too many) supporting team gb, but thankfully there will be just as many true Welsh football fans who will be opposed to it, all of whom are concerned about the damage that it will do to our national team. C'mon Uruguay!

  • The members of the home nations' football associations aren't a bunch of nationalists who are looking for a moan; they have genuine fear for the indepence of our nations in football. The players who have gone against the football accosiations wishes are selfish and treacherous!

  • Well done Griff, you have lost the argument, and now you revert to attacking people with the opposing view. Yes "it's just a game of football" and no. "nobody will die", but we just might lose our football independence (view LeChuck below). And that is certainly not a price worth paying.

  • Anyone advocating a football TeamGB need to remember what Blatter said in 2008 : "They should enter only a team composed of players from England. This will then not provoke a long and endless discussion of the four British associations."

  • The four nations of the UK are exceptions in footballing terms. No other stateless nation has representation on the international stage. Ukraine didn't have representation when there players were 'flying the flag' for Ukraine in the Soviet Union national team. Catalonia and Basque don't have an independent team even though they have greater sovereignty than us!...

  • 33. Such a rule change would not pass through IFAB, they have no jurisdiction to decide who is and isn't allowed to enter competitive matches.

    IFAB decide what size the goals should be, should the offiside rule change, should we have goal-line technology...not who FIFA should and shouldn't allow into their own competitions. IFAB would be powerless to do anything.

  • 30. As the only person on here who seems to know IFAB exists, you should have known that IFAB would reject every rule change proposed by FIFA if they tried to do that. We both know why four of the IFAB members would stop FIFA making any more changes to rules, it's political. We both know this and thus Team GB is not being forced by FIFA.

    Blatter is effectively powerless as consequence.

  • 31. No, the home nations do not have that power. If FIFA's member nations vote to allow only Team GB entry into future FIFA competitions the UK teams will have no choice. Ultimately it is FIFA who decide who they allow to enter their competitions, not us.

  • I won't be but then again I haven't watched any Olympic event since the disgraceful decision to hold it in China.
    Greed and politics now override any Olympic ideals.

  • @Hiraeth1973 Actually Cardiff played their first few season in the south wales leagues. But lets go back to the formation of the League of Wales and the "Irate 8" who were WELSH clubs playing in ENGLAND, 5 of whom moved back to the Welsh system.

    Simply put my point is that if a threat to independence is 5 players, lets Order Swansea, cardiff etc, back to the welsh system, and Throw TNS out...

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