Olympic football has been going on for years, even before the World Cup. Most of the participants take it incredibly seriously. Brazil in particular are treating London 2012 as importantly as a World Cup, as the Olympic gold medal is the one tournament they have never one.
With the FA looking to maximise the opportunity of playing in a summer Olympics, with scant regard for the other home nations, will they be happy with the way things are going?
Kanu was the designated over-50 player back in 1996
Football is huge business in most countries in the world, and England is perhaps the leader in marketing the domestic league. Kick-off times are changed to suit Asia, pre-season tours can pay for landmark signings and kit deals with American firms are as good as a trophy, on Merseyside at least.
There is saturation in the market already, previous blogs have looked at reviving the Carling Cup, while even European games struggle to attract fans when group placings have already been decided. Olympic football tickets were available at champagne prices before the wine list had even been collected. Will Glaswegians flock to a Thursday afternoon clash between Honduras and Morocco?
The advantage of Olympic scheduling is that you will usually get two games for your ticket, and even the above game will be preceded by Spain vs Japan. Not something you can do with domestic football, the segregation alone would cause the Police nightmares.
Daley prepares to take a throw in
It looks like the next four months will cause more aggravation than joy in British football. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs are petrified of losing their independent status, perhaps with good reason judging by who run FIFA. The clubs will no doubt bitch and moan at potentially losing players during the vital pre-season. Despite Stuart Pearce stating he won't use those who play for England at Euro 2012, will Arsene Wenger keep quiet over potentially losing Wilshere or Oxlade-Chamberlain? Or Ferguson keep schtum over losing Smalling or Welbeck?
The odds are that for the smaller games, the powers that be will happily pluck local kids from their loitering and fill the grounds with them. Lots of noisy ragamuffins at the Ricoh arena can only be good for the future, especially if it's free. Coventry could do with all the support they get.
The publicity bandwagon will hit white hot if David Beckham is picked, and those who've booked holidays will be glad. Seb Coe can bleat about legacy all he wants. But can he sleep at night knowing that he is just a women's team photo call away from disgrace?
The Argentine Olympic team extend the olive branch to their Chinese hosts
Maybe we should be grateful Argentina didn't qualify. But the thought of the Gabon squad dressed as pearly kings quoting Michael Caine would be a sight to behold.
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