Football/political question for any Brit

[exwannabe 1]

I was traveling near London last summer while England played France in the Euro '04 tounament (tough loss). Quite a site watching the local pub crowd, but I never understood why it was England (as opposed to the UK) playing. I asked a few locals and never got a good answer.

 

Last I checked, there's no Wales in the UN, and Scotland doesn't go off and fight wars, and only one team goes to the Olympics. Yet in football tournaments, it's everybody for themselves.

 

Is this just because football is bigger than politics over there?

[scarface 0]

Yes

[Niall 0]

We have a Great Britain rugby league team for reasons I have never understood. Rugby union is seperate. You could say that union is far bigger but historically this was not the case (amateur era).

[CheshireTom 1,377]

exwannabe,

 

Basically, it's a case of we invented the game so we will set the rules.

 

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the rules of the game (not FIFA) originally comprised the Football Associations of the four home countries, namely:

 

The Football Association (England)

The Scottish Football Association

The Football Association of Wales

Irish Football Association

 

Each of these Associations has one vote each on the IFAB.

 

FIFA joined the IFAB some time later and has a total of four votes.

 

Historically, all motions must have a 75% majority therefore the positions of the four home countries is assured for the foreseeable future.

 

A fuller explanation is at:

 

We invented the fuckin' game!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Tom

[JohnnyK 28]

Ex-Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly once was asked on the eve of a big game, "Is this game a matter of life and death?"

"Oh, its much more important than that," he replied.

[exwannabe 1]

Tom, good answer.

 

Now I'll sleep better knowing there is a real reason.

[Babepecker 0]

Ex-Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly once was asked on the eve of a big game, "Is this game a matter of life and death?"

"Oh, its much more important than that," he replied.

...and so believes about 95% of the world's population.

 

Anyone willing to guess the place of residence of the other 5%?

 

 

CheshireTom,

thanks for the link.

 

 

[scarface 0]

USA???

[Gus 97]

FWIW

The England Cricket team has Welshmen and Scotsmen playing in it, work that fcuker out, cos I can't

[Niall 0]

I can top that. Budge Poutney, who had never been to Scotland before deciding to play rugby union for them (and subsequently becoming captain) qualified for the team because he had one maternal grandmother borne in the channel islands and therefore free choice of UK country.

 

Mad, and it ended in tears...

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Niall,

 

And then of course we have the athletes from Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Anglesey, Shetland etc who represent Great Britain in the Olympics.

 

We won't mention Zola Budd .............. :crying

 

Tom

[Niall 0]

Or that Canadian who boxed for Great Britain.

 

Shhh...

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Next thing you know we'll have catholics playing for Rangers .........

[JohnnyK 28]

Or that Canadian who boxed for Great Britain.

 

Shhh...

Do you mean Lennox?

[scarface 0]

Or the canadian who plays tennis for us!

[Babepecker 0]

USA???

scarface,

you've just won a decaf diet Coke... ...though you might have to settle for something more toxic if we ever meet in Pattaya.

 

 

Btw, we have, since a month or so ago, a Brasilian playing for Croatia's side... ...oooops, I mean a South-American-Croatian-citizen.

 

 

[JohnnyK 28]

Or the canadian who plays tennis for us!

Rusedski's father was a mate of mine in Ogilvie School, grades 4-7. His mum was born in England and came to canada when she was about 2 yrs old.

Tennis in Canada is a joke so Greg R. saw that he could live in England legally and make some serious dosh there as a tennis pro.

His father, Tommy, had mortaged his house to finance Greg's first years on the tour. Put his money on the line for his son and came up a winner. That's a dad!

[Carl 0]

There is now a Scottish Parliament, and the Welsh may also soon be voting for devolved power, Sinn Fein and the Uslter Unionists are not quite there yet, so not quite a United Kingdom.

 

But as for football, I'm from Norwich.......yes I'll do another Op Tellic Tour!!!

[Eneukman 1]

Niall,

 

We won't mention Zola Budd .............. :crying

 

Tom

 

Aye, she got her visa UK passport pretty damn quick - nothing whatsoever to do with her athletic abilities . Though as far as I can recall, even that took longer than the visa for David Blunkett's bit on the side's nanny

 

Alan

[Eneukman 1]

Next thing you know we'll have catholics playing for Rangers .........

 

Not only Catholics, but black Catholics

 

Reminds me of a former colleague of mine (by the name of Donald) from when I had only been working for the Bank for a couple of years. He was an ardent Rangers fan, a National Front (now British National Party) supporter and a member of the Free Church of Scotland. At that time, the first two went hand in hand.

 

After one drunken night out (he was working in the Western Isles by that time and was back home on holiday) we ended up at a colleague's (Bobby) place. His wife, by the way, was Catholic. We were all pissed and Donald ended up on the stairs. He then started up on his Rangers songs, which as some of you may know were (at that time) very anti Catholic. Another friend and I sat there cringing!

 

Now, Bobby was a man after our own hearts and a bit of a womaniser and it was no surprise when I learned that he had got divorced. It was, however, a major surprise when I was told that his wife had moved in with Donald.

 

Alan