And European countries simply aren't taking this competition seriously. Look at the hosts. Great Britain cobbled a team together out of England's Euro leftovers and bits of the Welsh team. The uncapped Jack Butland aside, not a single player who saw time at Euro was considered for selection in the Olympics.
It certainly meant none of Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard would be showing up. This competition was taken so un-seriously that Stuart Pearce went into the tournament with Daniel Sturridge and Marvin Sordell as his available centre forwards. Neither has played as a lone forward in a Premier League match.
Barely an eyelash was batted when Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale pulled out of the Olympics with a mildly controversial injury. The British people didn't even send Sturridge death threats for missing the key penalty in the quarterfinal loss to South Korea. Nobody cared!
The complete antipathy toward the Olympics that Britain showed was mirrored by Switzerland. Switzerland are a very good young term -- they came second in the European under Championships last summer, but neither of their two best players even showed up in London. Apparently, Xherdan Shaqiri, 19, and Granit Xhaka, 20, both of whom you may recall from the very good Basel team which knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League last season, figured that preseason training with their new clubs trumped playing in the Olympics.
And as for Belarus Golf and tennis, one could argue, also have no place at the Olympics. A gold medal can never eclipse the championships these two sports already offer, both when it comes to prestige and audience interest, on a regular basis.
What the Olympics do need is an injection of new sports. Both are sports that deserve a larger stage and audience and it helps bring interest on the part of younger fans to the Olympics. In that same vein, FIFA should work with the International Olympic Committee to bring beach soccer and futsal a five-a-side indoor version played on a basketball court to the Summer Games. Even if pros played, the format would be different and refreshing.
The Olympics already features 33 different sports represented by 50 separate disciplines across events. If you are not sure of who the players are, you will most likely not want to watch the matches! The Olympics usually start between July and August. This is usually very close to the time when the top domestic leagues start their seasons as well. Most of these leagues have many top players that may not have a chance to play in the Olympics.
Would you rather watch matches where you would know most players, or matches where mainly Us are playing? The domestic leagues will have a much higher appeal to football fans compared to the Olympics. Every club will want to start the season on a good note. They will need all of their players to be available to play for the team. There has always been a standoff between clubs and countries over players playing in international matches.
With the Olympics happening at the same time, clubs will be even more reluctant to let their players go. When you are the winner of a football tournament, you will usually be presented with a trophy.
This has led to trophy presentations that come with a lot of fanfare. In contrast, you are only awarded a medal when you win the Olympic football tournament. As such, the Olympic gold medal may be considered by players to be less prestigious compared to winning the World Cup.
The Olympic football teams have an under age restriction imposed on them, which limits the number of famous players that are able to play in the team. Women's football needs an audience.
It may be less physical than the men's game try telling GB that, after the Cameroon match , but it is well worth watching. The TV coverage of the London Olympics will be the widest and best ever. Women's sport in general gets a raw deal. If GB can somehow top their table, we could see a mouthwatering final between USA and Brazil on August 9 to inspire girls across the globe. Genuine football fans have become utterly fed up with allegations of corruption in international football, with the media focus on FIFA Governance.
While there have been allegations of corruption elsewhere in the Olympic movement, football seems fairly immune. That hasn't prevented the IOC from being vigilant against the possibility of betting scandals at the London Olympics. It is a tragedy that already the extraordinary performance of a Chinese swimmer has attracted unnecessary accusations of doping. There will be 6, drugs tests in London. So far, both versions of the football have been played in a good spirit, despite the somewhat physical approach of such as the Senegalese men.
Let's hope Olympic football continues to be untainted; that the men's tournament is a portent of future super-stardom; and the women's tournament puts their sport firmly at the top of world women's spectator sport.
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