England Manager Sam Allardyce Backs Team GB Returning To Olympics

Sam Allardyce

England Manager Sam Allardyce "would welcome Team GB entering football teams at future Olympics," according to the BBC. After taking part at London 2012, the four national FAs "could not agree on sending a British women's team to the Rio Games." A place was earned by England finishing third in the 2015 World Cup. Allardyce: "To turn it down is a great shame. It's something we may look at in the future and try to compete in. When you see the delight on Justin Rose's face after winning the Gold Medal in golf it shows what it all means." The FA had put forward the idea of sending Great Britain teams to the Olympics, but FIFA said it would "need the agreement of the ruling bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who were against it." The other home nations "fear such a move could affect their independent status" within FIFA and at int'l tournaments such as the World Cup (BBC, 8/21).