“The English have left the Union!” “The British are out of the European Championship!” You may have heard these sentences from more than one or two people and read them in the comments in recent days, although both statements are incorrect. In the world of sport, the fact that Britons compete under one flag at the Olympics is baffling, but in football they are represented by three separate national teams – in fact, one of them still stands! – In the current European Championship.
The English have already been eliminated from the European Championship, but there is still someone to represent the Queen (Photos: AFP) |
Due to Brexit and the European Championship, perceptions have become somewhat blurred in the last few days regarding the issues of geography and nationality affecting the British Isles, so it doesn’t hurt to clarify that with the referendum United kingdom (exactly United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) decided to leave the EU – even if a majority of voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain (you can read about clarification of geographical and political terms here Great summary!).
Meanwhile, in the final match of the 24-team European Football Championship, the three member states of the monarchy will compete, England, Northern Ireland And Wales It was also shown separately (Scotland As usual, he didn’t make it past the qualifiers.) Science in the Olympics With a somewhat misleading name – it’s not the UK, but – It begins under the flag of Great Britain (Of course, Northern Ireland also belongs to the British Olympic Committee.)
Why is it so?
England: Second place in the group, and was eliminated in the round of 16 |
northern Ireland: Third place in the group, and was eliminated in the round of 16 |
Wales: The group leader will play Belgium in the quarter-finals |
against each other |
England-Wales 2-1 |
Wales – Northern Ireland 1-0 |
The answer should be answered by football, not by the Olympics. “It’s been talked about a lot.”The English invented football“A cliché based on the truth of it In the British Isles, footballers were first organized into clubs, and later clubs were brought together through associations. The first match between the two football teams Between England and Scotland It was held in Glasgow in 1872, long before the first Olympic Games (1896). In 1884, the national teams of the British Isles (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland) actually organized the tournament.
By the time FIFA was founded in 1904, it was not even possible for the four independent and powerful organizations to unite – and where have they been since the first World Cup! The situation was later affected by the fact that after the proclamation of the Irish Free State Irish Football Association, The IFA’s “remits” were limited to the territory of Northern Ireland, and were established as a counterpoint Irish Football Association, fi. In terms of results, your predecessor is first! By the way The situation was similar in the case of the Hungarian and Austrian Football Associations (The former was actually created in 1901, the latter only in 1904), so it is possible that Hungary and Austria represented themselves in sports with two separate national teams until the Austro-Hungarian monarchy existed.
Meanwhile, across the Olympic movement, the inclusion of Britons has never been considered separately: The British Olympic Association, BOA, was founded only after the first Olympic Games, in 1905 (although the roots of the British Olympic movement can of course be traced back to an earlier time, and British competitors were already present in Athens in 1896), and there has never been a push. Real for independence.
Furthermore it FIFA and UEFA have always interpreted the concept of countries more broadly, Like other major international organizations while it In the Olympic Charter The wording of a country goes like “An independent state recognized by the international community of states” (IV 30 § 1.). To clarify in numbers: To FIFA 211, To the International Olympic Committee 206, To the United Nations 193 It currently has a full member state. Is it any wonder that the Football Association’s admission into the international and European umbrella organization has been recorded as a diplomatic achievement in Kosovo?
Ryan Giggs, captain of Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics – the shirt he wore is now a relic of sporting history |
Returning to the British: the 2012 Olympics were special for them not only because they organized them, but also because, at the cost of great difficulties – in a unique way in recent decades – I managed to form an “all-British” football team, Thus, the Welshman in the person of Ryan Giggs led the eleven “national” team, made up mainly of Englishmen. For 30 years before that, the British did not have such a problem, since their team could not reach the Olympics, and it will not happen in the near future, because the Welsh and Scots already indicated during the London Games that they would do so. Don’t want to cooperate. This is no coincidence, because an independent football team is one of the most important expressions of identity not only for member associations, but also for ordinary people. Perhaps Brexit will only reinforce this.