Memorandum submitted by the British Olympic
Association
INTRODUCTION
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the
National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. It was formed in 1905 in the House of Commons, and at
that time consisted of seven National Governing Body members.
The BOA now includes as its members the 35 National Governing
Bodies of each Olympic sport. The Football Association by agreement
with the other Home Country Football Associations is the representative
on the NOC for the sport of football.
The BOA is one of 203 NOCs currently recognised
by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC's role is
to lead the promotion of Olympism in accordance with the Olympic
Charter. The Charter details the philosophy, aims and traditions
of the Olympic Movement. The IOC co-opts and elects its members
from among such persons as it considers qualified. Members of
the IOC are its representatives in their respective countries
and not delegates of their countries within the IOC.
The BOA is responsible for developing the Olympic
Movement within Great Britain and Northern Ireland and facilitating
and managing the British Olympic Team (Team GB) at the Olympic
and Olympic Winter Games. In addition, the BOA delivers extensive
elite level support services to Britain's Olympic athletes and
their National Governing Bodies throughout each Olympic cycle
to assist them in their preparations for, and performances at
the Games.
Great Britain is one of only five countries
which have never failed to be represented at the Summer Olympic
Games since 1896. Great Britain, France and Switzerland are the
only countries to have been present at all Olympic Winter Games.
Great Britain has also played host to two Olympic Games in London:
in 1908 and 1948. In 2005, London was selected as the host city
for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The BOA is one of only two NOCs worldwide which
does not receive government or public finance. The impartiality
this grants the BOA means that it can speak freely as a strong
independent voice for British Olympic Sport.
FOOTBALL IN
THE OLYMPIC
GAMES
This submission provides evidence relating to
two of the inquiry's requested areas of interest:
— The development of women's football
at all levels and the resource requirements to support wider participation
in amateur and elite women's football.
— Media coverage and sponsorship
of women's football.
In 1900 football became the first team sport
to be introduced into the Olympic Games. But Olympic football
relatively quickly found itself rivalled by the instant popularity
of the World Cup which began in 1930. Indeed football was excluded
altogether from the Olympic programme in 1932. Further controversy
followed when Eastern European nations found ways round the regulations
which insisted on the amateur status of all participants. The
1984 Games in Los Angeles saw professionals formally permitted
for the first time. In Atlanta 1996, women's football became an
Olympic sport for the first time.
Qualifying competitions take place to decide
the sixteen finalists in the Olympic men's competition. They are
divided into four groups of four, and play 32 matches up to and
including the final. The women's game is the same, but there are
only two groups and the top two teams in each will go forward
to the semi-finals. Great Britain has won gold medals in 1900,
1908 and 1912, but a British team has not participated since the
1972 Munich Olympic Games because of concerns amongst the Home
Nations about their independent status in world football.
At the London Games in 2012, Team GB will be
granted automatic host-nation qualification status for all the
events on the Olympic programme. Whilst the BOA will take advantage
of this unique qualifying situation, it will not field athletes
or teams which are not competitive. It is however, the BOA's intention
at this stage to enter a GB football team for both the men's and
women's competitions in London 2012. The BOA has been leading
discussions and negotiations between the four Home Nation football
associations to ascertain how the format of such teams may take
shape (please see Appendix. (not printed here). The Fédération
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has stated that
the entry of a GB football team in 2012 would not affect the individual
international standings of the Home Nations. [1]
The London 2012 football competition will be
the largest international football event to take place on UK shores
since 1966. Games will be played at many venues across the UK,
including the finals at the new Wembley Stadium. Particularly
for the women's game, such exposure both in terms of spectator
numbers and an increased media profile throughout the UK, will
be unprecedented. Competing in the World Cup is obviously the
pinnacle of any footballer's career, but London 2012 offers our
top female footballers with a similar opportunity to showcase
their talents in a large-scale tournament. Even better to do so
in front of a patriotic and enthusiastic home crowd who will be
inspired by the performances of the GB Teams. The BOA has no doubt
that the presence of a GB women's football team competing in 2012
will encourage thousands of girls and young women to take up the
sport, not only as players but as coaches, referees and volunteers.
Alongside encouraging women to become involved in the amateur
game, the proposition of being able to compete in London 2012
will provide a fantastic challenge to aspire to for those women
already competing.
Participation at the Olympic Games grants a
level of media coverage which few other sporting events equal.
Particularly, for some of the less popular sports, the Olympic
Games provide one of the only opportunities for extensive local
and global media coverage. The following statistics from the Athens
Olympic Games television coverage in 2004 show the extent of such
exposure: [2]
— An audience of 3.9 billion,
from 220 different countries tuned in to watch the Athens Games
(the largest in Games history).
— In total the BBC broadcast over
247 hours of dedicated Olympic coverage on its two channels.
— In total 49 million people watched
Olympic coverage on the BBC for three minutes or more over the
17 day period.
— The peak British audience for
the Olympic football competition (without the participation of
Team GB) was four million viewers.
The presence of the home teams in the 2012 football
competition would generate significant interest from both the
national and international media, such exposure the GB women's
team would no doubt wish to capitalise on, both for its corporate
and sponsorship benefits, and for the increased profile which
would encourage new participants.
In the lead up to the London Games in 2012 the
BOA will continue to play a central role in encouraging the Home
Country Football Associations to find a way to ensure Great Britain
fields the strongest possible football teams in London 2012 and
that no British footballer is denied the opportunity of taking
part.
June 2006
1 BBC Sport: FIFA green light for 2012 GB Team (1
September 2005). Back
2
Athens Olympic Games 2004 Review: BBC Sport. Back
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