Why do Team GB not have a football team in the Olympics? Nation absent from Paris Games due to unique rule

Football at the Olympics is not a chance for England fans to get over their Euro heartbreak, as Team GB are not taking part.

Great Britain have not fielded a side in the men’s football event since London 2012 while the women are also a no-show in Paris.

4

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs captained Team GB at London 2012European qualification for the men’s tournament this summer came from the 2023 UEFA Under-21 Euros, which England won.

But an ongoing dispute meant lifting the silverware didn’t book Team GB’s Olympic spot, with Israel and Ukraine instead qualifying alongside runners-up Spain.

Here, talkSPORT.com breaks down why Team GB doesn’t have a men’s or women’s team in Paris…

Read more on the OlympicsWhy do Team GB not have a men’s football team?Unlike the FIFA-governed World Cup and the European Championship, the Olympics are overseen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In FIFA/UEFA competitions, each representative of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) have their own FA and thus competes individually.

In the IOC, however, the home nations are registered as one entity under the name Great Britain and rack up medals as such.

British teams regularly featured, and were successful, in the Olympic football events in the early 20th century.

Most read in Olympics

Great Britain claimed gold unofficially at Paris 1900, before officially at London 1908 and then retaining their title at Stockholm 1912.

However, over time, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland allayed fears their independence in FIFA/UEFA tournaments would be risked if they continued competing as a single entity in the Olympics.

Team GB’s participation in Olympic men’s football was then stopped in the 1970s, with only a brief exception for London 2012 made since.

4

Team GB are not playing Olympic football this summerThe Games being held on home soil eventually led to an agreement to compete in a squad that contained 13 English and 5 Welsh players.

There were no Scottish or Northern Irish representatives as Team GB eventually crashed out on penalties to South Korea in the quarter-finals.

A similar agreement has not been made for any of the three Olympic Games since, meaning England’s win in last summer’s Under-21 Euros didn’t see them book a plane to Paris.

talkSPORT debate who is the greatest British sports star of all time

4

This could have been the triumph that booked Britain’s place at the OlympicsCredit: GettyWhy do Team GB not have a women’s football team?Team GB’s women’s squad also competed at London 2012 but, unlike the men, they have been able to qualify for the Games since.

While no agreement between the home nations was reached for Brazil 2016, the women’s team was reborn for Tokyo 2020.

In both editions though, they suffered quarter-final exits.

The agreement between the home nations sees the highest-ranking women’s team between the four attempts to claim one of the three European spots available that would be handed to Team GB.

Read More on talkSPORT

4

The Lionesses failed to secure Team GB a women’s football spot at the OlympicsCredit: GettyFor the 2024 Olympics, that honour fell to England but the Lionesses fell short having only finished second in their Nations League group.

They beat Scotland 6-0 in their last group game but it still wasn’t enough to book their place at the Games.

talkSPORT brings you live coverage of the Paris Olympics this summer, with Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes among our legendary line-up of pundits. Listen to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, via the app, or through your smart speaker. And follow our live blog for all the latest news.