Football politics.

The Olympics has resurrected the old problem concerning a Great Britain football team.  Because we enter the Olympics as Great Britain and Northern Ireland, any team we enter for the football competition has to be under that banner.  The problem is that the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Football Associations are not willing to take part on that basis - partly because of nationalistic rivalries, but mainly because they fear that if a truly Great Britain side ever were to enter a major competition, they would lose their right to compete as separate countries in the future.  The situation is further complicated by the fact that they acknowledge that they have no jurisdiction to prevent any Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish player playing for a Great Britain side if they wish to do so - their only sanction would be to say that anyone who did so would forfeit their right to ever be picked, or picked again for their national side.  So we'll probably end up with GB being represented by a purely English side.