Great Britain Olympic football team

The Great Britain Olympic football team is the men's football team that represents the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) at the Summer Olympic Games (where it competes as Great Britain, currently branded Team GB). The team is organised by the English Football Association (FA) as the footballing representative of the British Olympic Association. The team only competes in the Olympic Games. In other international football tournaments, the Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are represented by their own national teams, a situation which pre-dated the establishment of a GB team.

This article is about British representation at Olympic football tournaments. For the United Kingdom in international football in general, see United Kingdom national football team.
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Great Britain women's Olympic football team.

Great Britain
Nickname(s)Team GB
AssociationThe Football Association (since 1907)
Most capsJim Lewis
Mike Pinner (11)[1]
Top scorerHarry Walden
Jim Lewis (9)[1]
FIFA codeGBR
First colours
Second colours
First international
Great Britain and Ireland 12–1 Sweden 
(London, Great Britain; 20 October 1908)
Biggest win
Great Britain and Ireland 12–1 Sweden 
(London, Great Britain; 20 October 1908)
Biggest defeat
 Bulgaria 6–1 Great Britain
(Melbourne, Australia; 30 November 1956)
 Bulgaria 5–0 Great Britain
(Sofia, Bulgaria; 5 May 1971)
Olympic Games
Appearances8[2] (first in 1900)
Best resultGold: 1900,[2]1908,[2] 1912[2]

The team first competed at the FA organised tournament for the 1908 Olympics held in London, which was the first games that featured representative teams using players selected nationally (prior games in 1900 and 1904 used club teams). This team and the two that followed in 1912 and 1920 featured only English amateur players, and is seen by some as merely an extension of the English amateur team, set up in 1906 in response to the rise of the professional game.[3] In this period the team won the gold medal at the 1908 and 1912 tournaments, although exited at Round 1 in 1920. A dispute between the FA and FIFA over the inclusion of professionals saw the FA withdraw from Olympic football in 1924 and 1928, and saw no football at the Olympics at all in 1932.[1]

After the creation of the FIFA World Cup, it was agreed that Olympic football would become exclusively amateur,[4] leading to the team competing again in the 1936 Games, this time incorporating players from other Home Nations. After the break caused by World War II, the team then competed in every games from 1948 until 1972, albeit failing to qualify for the main tournament after 1960.[1] In this period the team's best performance was fourth place in 1948 at the second Games hosted in London, under manager Matt Busby.[1]

After the FA abolished the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1974, it stopped entering a team.[3] By the 1992 Games teams could use professionals, but were restricted to players under 23 years old, with only three over-age players allowed per squad.[4] Despite this change, Great Britain did not enter a football team again until London won the right to host the 2012 Games.[5][6] The FA organised the team, with Stuart Pearce appointed manager.[7] A Great Britain women's team also competed at the 2012 Games.

History

Origins

The FA was formed in London 1863, when thirteen teams met to draw up a shared rule list for football, in order to facilitate matches between clubs.[8] The question of the geographical remit of this organisation does not appear to have been asked, with the FA being formed before the rise of international football. The first football matches between national teams were arranged by the FA, who invited English and Scottish players to form representative teams.[8] The Scottish teams were made up almost entirely of Scottish residents in England and in order to encourage more Scottish based players to compete, an organisation in Scotland was sought to form the Scottish team.[8] For the 1872 game between Scotland and England in Glasgow, Queen's Park Football Club took on this role, and this game is now recognised as the first international match.[9] Within a year, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) was founded to facilitate these matches, and to organise football in Scotland more broadly. The third national football association, the Football Association of Wales was founded in 1876 and a fourth, the Irish Football Association, (IFA), was founded in 1880.

The practice of playing internationals between the four countries of the United Kingdom (also known as the home nations) was thus developed before football associations were developed elsewhere in the world and, no 'United Kingdom football association' was ever formed.[1] Outside of the UK, the first national associations were formed in 1889 (in Denmark and the Netherlands),[1] and these also began to pick their own national teams. When football was included at the 1900 Olympics, however, many nations were still struggling to raise a team,[1] and so club teams entered instead. Upton Park represented the UK, winning the gold medal.[3]

1908–1936
Great Britain squad that won the Gold Medal in 1908

For the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the FA persuaded the IOC to include an official football tournament, which they organised.[3] A team, made up entirely of English players, was entered.[10] Some sources continue to refer to this team as the England national amateur football team,[3] whilst others still simply label all participations as Great Britain.[11] Although the team competed as the United Kingdom and are listed as such, the official match report refers to "the English team".[12] The Scottish Football Association passed a resolution to "protest against one National body in the British Isles being termed the United Kingdom, or playing as such without the consent of the other three National Associations". The resolution was read at the next meeting of the International Football Association Board. In response, "[t]he Football Association representatives explained that this was the name given by the authorities, and that so far as the Football Association was concerned they had nothing to do with the matter. The Scottish Association were satisfied with this answer."[13]

At the 1908 Olympics, "Great Britain and Ireland" won all three of their matches, defeating Sweden and Netherlands in the first two rounds. They met Denmark in the final, defeating them 2–0 with goals from Vivian Woodward and Frederick Chapman.[14]

Scene of the 1912 Olympic Final match where Great Britain won its second Gold after beating Denmark 4–2

The team repeated this success at the 1912 Games.[15][16] Again, Britain won all three matches and defeated Denmark in the final, this time 4–2. Woodward, who scored in the previous final, was captain for this tournament.[17]

At the 1920 Summer Games, Britain lost in the first round in a surprise defeat to Norway.[18] Britain had played only amateur players, while other nations selected their team from all available players.[19] The tournament formed part of a rift which developed between the FA, who wanted the Olympics to remain an amateur only competition, and FIFA, who were keen on having a full football world championship.[20] This resulted in the FA leaving FIFA, as well as withdrawing from the 1924 and 1928 football tournaments.[21] Eventually, however, an agreement was reached in which the Olympic football tournament would be for amateur players only, with the FIFA World Cup created to include all players, professional and amateur.[21]

There was no football tournament at the 1932 games, so Britain's return to Olympic football came at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Great Britain were defeated in the quarter-finals, losing 5–4 to Poland.[22]

1948–1970

Following the Second World War, Great Britain competed in all Olympic football tournaments from 1948 through to 1972. The 1948 tournament, which was hosted in London, was the team's most successful. By this time, it was recognised that Britain's amateur players were not of the same quality as they had been in earlier years, due to the rise of the professional game.[23] By contrast, teams in nations which had not yet developed professional leagues were able to field their strongest sides.[23] Manager Matt Busby trained a squad made up of players from all of the 'home nations',[23] and Britain progressed to the semi-final with wins over the Netherlands and France. Having lost the semi-final to Yugoslavia, Britain once again faced Denmark. This time, however, they were defeated 5–3 and missed out on a bronze medal.[24] Wembley Stadium hosted Great Britain's final two matches, though they also played at Craven Cottage and Highbury.

After 1948, Great Britain were never a significant threat at the Olympics again. They were eliminated after losing their opening match to Luxembourg in 1952,[1] and qualified for the 1956 only after other teams withdrew, before being beaten by Bulgaria in the quarter-finals.[1] Their final appearance at an Olympic Games came in 1960.[25] The squad was again selected from all of the home nations, with matches between the national amateur sides being used to choose a best 19.[25] Great Britain were eliminated in the first round, losing one, drawing one and winning one of their three matches.[25] After that Great Britain failed to qualify for the next three Olympics, with their final match being a 5–0 qualifying round defeat by Bulgaria[15] in 1971 following a 1–0 victory at Wembley Stadium against the same team.[26]

In 1974, the Football Association stopped recognising a distinction between professionals and amateurs, with all player subsequently registered simply as 'players', whether paid or unpaid.[27] This ended the existence of the England amateur team, which had always been the basis for the British Olympic team. As such, the FA stopped entering a football team into Olympic competition.

1972–2008

For the 1984 Summer Olympics, professional footballers were allowed to compete at the Olympics for the first time.[4][28] Initially, European and South American teams were banned from playing players who had competed in the FIFA World Cup, but from the 1992 Summer Olympics eligibility for all nations was restricted to players aged under 23, except that three players of any age are allowed in the squad.[4]

Since 1992, the UEFA European Under-21 Championship has acted as the qualifying tournament for the UEFA nations, which each of the Home Nations enter. On three occasions, teams from Great Britain have finished in the qualifying positions:

In March 1996, the Scottish National Party proposed that the Scotland U21s should compete in the 1996 Olympics football tournament, having finished fourth in the 1996 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[29] Scotland would have qualified for the Summer Olympics football tournament twice in succession, having also finished fourth in the 1992 edition. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) opposed the idea of the Scotland team being sent to the Olympics as they would have had to participate as Great Britain, which the SFA considered would have jeopardised the independent status of Scottish national teams.[29]

The British Olympic Association initially refused to rule out the possibility of entry for the 2008 Games,[30] England would have qualified for the 2008 Olympics by reaching the semi-finals of the 2007 Under–21 Championship, but a team was not entered.[31] Italy took their vacated place by winning a play-off match against Portugal.[31] The England women's team also qualified for the 2008 Olympics, through their performance in the 2007 World Cup, but they were denied a place at the Olympics because the other three Home Nations refused to give their consent.[32]

Reformation for London 2012
The BOA released a supporters' shirt for fans of Team GB

Due to the success of the London 2012 Olympic bid, the United Kingdom gained the right to enter a team in the football tournament as host nation.[5][33] The British Olympic Association (BOA) stated it would enter a football team,[5] but the Scottish Football Association (SFA) refused even to attend meetings at which the Home Nations were to discuss the possibility[34] and the Football Association of Wales (FAW) withdrew from the negotiations.[35] The Irish Football Association (representing Northern Ireland) stated in October 2007 that they would not take part in a unified team, leaving the Football Association (England) as the only association willing to take part. The SFA's opposition to the plans were rooted primarily in the fear that the Home Nations would be forced to field a combined team in all competitions.[34] This would mean the loss of the special status of the Home Nations, established under FIFA's constitution.[36]

Various fans, politicians and sports-people all gave their opinions with regards to the creation of a team. A 2005 opinion poll published by the BOA claimed that a majority of Scots supported the creation of a British team for the 2012 Olympics.[37] A joint statement issued by the official fan clubs of all four Home Nations voiced their opposition to the plan.[38] Various prominent politicians also offered their opinion as to whether there should be a British team in the 2012 Olympics. Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated during the 2008 Olympics that he wanted a British team and would work towards that happening, although he acknowledged that it could affect the autonomy of the Home Nations.[39] First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond then stated his opposition to a British team, arguing that Brown must be "seriously out of touch with Scotland" to support it.[40]

FIFA President Sepp Blatter initially assured each of the British Associations that their status would not be affected by fielding a combined team in 2012.[41] The SFA refused to change its position, arguing that Blatter's personal opinion and permission might not matter once he has left office, and that they did not wish to jeopardise their status.[34] Blatter seemed to change his view in March 2008, when he stated that "they should enter only a team composed of players from England"[42] and he suggested that the independent status of the four British associations could be harmed by a unified team.[42] UEFA chief executive David Taylor, a former chief executive of the SFA, said in August 2008 that a British Olympic team would threaten the existence of the individual home nations.[43] Taylor also said that the unique status of the Home Nations had come under attack before from other FIFA members, and that it was "difficult to see what guarantees could be given" to protect that status.[43] At a conference held in conjunction with the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, the prospect of a UK team for the 2012 Olympics was discussed by the FIFA Executive Committee, who gave their approval.[44]

The executive committee confirmed that the participation in the 2012 London Olympic Games of a single team representing Great Britain would not affect the existing individual status of the four British football associations. For the Olympic Games, they have to play in one entity. The ball is now in their turf. We expect a solution that will be presented to us for the month of March.[44]

From the world of sport, world 400 m hurdles champion Dai Greene said that he felt that there should not be an Olympic football tournament because the Olympics is not the pinnacle of that sport.[45] He also expressed fears that coverage of the football team would overshadow interest in the other competitors.[45] Sebastian Coe, the director of the 2012 Olympics, regularly spoke out in support of the team.[46]

A compromise was eventually reached between the four associations, whereby a squad of English players only would represent the United Kingdom.[6] The football associations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales sent a joint letter to FIFA stating that they would not participate, but that they would not object to England participating alone.[6] This agreement was challenged by the BOA, who wanted to select players from all four countries and claimed it would be potentially discriminatory to only select English players.[47] Jim Boyce stated that there is no legal restriction on players being selected by the BOA[47] and the SFA admitted that it would have no legal grounds to prevent Scottish players from participating.[48] It was then confirmed that the FA intended to select players from outside England.[7] Eligible non-English players such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey expressed their desire to play in the squad, having posed for a photo-shoot wearing the replica shirts of the team.[49]

Pre-tournament preparations

The FA announced in October 2011 that Stuart Pearce would be the manager. After this announcement, Pearce drew up an initial long-list of players who he wanted to consider for the squad, and wrote to all of these players to inform them of his choice.[50] Pearce said that players who did not want to be included would be able to inform him of their wishes at that stage.[50] It was stated in December 2011 that none of the players selected for the England squad for the 2012 UEFA European Championships would be selected, in order to avoid player fatigue.[51] In January 2012, it was revealed that 191 players had been contacted, with 7 declining to be considered for the team.[52] A further cut was announced in April 2012, with the shortlist of eligible players reduced to around 80.[53] The final pre-tournament cut occurred in early June, when a squad of 35 players was submitted to FIFA.[54][55]

Great Britain were placed in group A for the Olympic tournament prior to the draw.[56] The draw was held on 24 April 2012 and added Uruguay, United Arab Emirates and Senegal to Great Britain's group.[57] The final 18-man squad for the Olympic Games was announced on 2 July 2012.[58] A pre-tournament training camp was held in Marbella, Spain.[59] This included a training match against Mexico, which Mexico won 1–0. All players in the squad played for between 45 and 75 minutes.[59] The team then played one official friendly match, against Brazil at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough on 20 July,[60] which was won 2–0 by Brazil.[61]

Olympic tournament

Great Britain's first match was a 1–1 draw with Senegal at Old Trafford in Manchester on 26 July. Craig Bellamy scored for Great Britain in the first half, but Pape Moussa Konaté scored the equaliser for Senegal from a counter-attack in the 82nd minute.[62] Their second match was a 3–1 win against the United Arab Emirates at Wembley. A Ryan Giggs header put Great Britain in the lead, before Ahmad Ali equalised. Scott Sinclair regained the lead with his first touch of the game after coming on as a substitute, and minutes later, fellow substitute Daniel Sturridge chipped the UAE's goalkeeper to make it 3–1.[62] Sturridge scored again in the 1–0 victory against Uruguay in their final group game.

Aaron Ramsey missed a penalty kick against South Korea in the 40th minute.

In the knockout stage, Great Britain played South Korea in the quarterfinal round. The match went to a penalty shoot-out after the score was 1–1, after extra time. Great Britain lost the shoot-out 4–5 after Sturridge missed Britain's fifth attempt, while South Korea converted all five of their attempts.[63]

Future prospects

During the 2012 tournament some players such as Ryan Giggs[64] and some members of the British Olympic Association[65] expressed a desire to enter a football team in future Olympics. After Great Britain's elimination from the 2012 Olympics, there were no public plans to reform the team for future Olympic Games,[66] with Alex Horne, chief-executive of the FA, stating that the FA would not support a future men's football team at the Olympics.[67] The problem facing any possible future Great Britain team is that there is no mechanism for it to qualify, as the individual home nations compete in the qualifying competition.[68]

In 2015, the England under-21 coach (Gareth Southgate) and the FA Director of Elite Development (Dan Ashworth) established as FA policy that the Olympic tournament is a valuable experience for underage players.[69] The FA subsequently advised the other home nations that they intended to enter teams in 2016, if either or both of the England teams met the qualification standard.[69][70] This suggestion was opposed by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish associations.[69][71] Jim Boyce of Northern Ireland, then a vice-president of FIFA, said that he had an assurance that any future Great Britain teams would require the consent of all home nations.[71] The FA then advised the other home nations that they would not enter teams, with the Scottish FA saying that the FA had "underestimated" opposition to the plan.[72]

After Team GB did not enter a team at the 2016 Olympics, British Olympic Association chief executive Bill Sweeney expressed his disappointment and said talks would take place to try to field teams for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[73] British Olympic Association vice-chairman and former sports minister Sir Hugh Robertson further stated: "From the British Olympic Committee's perspective, we would love to see Team GB football", whilst new England senior team manager Sam Allardyce stated: "To turn it down is a great shame. It's something we may look at in the future and try to compete in."[73] Joint talks between all four of the home nations began in September 2016.[74] FIFA subsequently approved the idea of a Great Britain team for the 2020 games, but opposition from the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish FAs continued.[75] FA chief executive Martin Glenn established that previous concerns over the existence of a team were no longer a concern, stating: "The big fear in the past was that if we did it we would jeopardise our independent country status. But that was sorted out under [former FIFA president Sepp] Blatter actually and Gianni Infantino has reinforced it."[74] Glenn revealed that "FIFA has indicated that it's not a problem" and that "the issue is the individual interests of each home nation."[74]

An agreement was reached between the four associations for a women's team to be entered in the 2020 Summer Olympics, with qualification depending on England's performance in the 2019 World Cup, but this did not affect men's football.[76]

Colours

The official kit for the 2012 Olympics, designed by Stella McCartney and manufactured by Adidas, was unveiled alongside the uniform for all Team GB Olympic competitors in March.[77] The front of the shirt is modelled on the right-hand side of a union flag, with the colours consisting of white and various shades of blue in keeping with the design of the uniforms in other sports.[78] The back of the shirt is navy blue, as are the shorts and socks.[77] The kit has a red trim.[77] The change kit is pale blue and white, with varying shades displaying the same union flag design as the home kit.[79] The crest is on the left breast of the shirt, and consists of a white shield with the generic Team GB logo in blue, with the words London 2012 below it.

Squads

Composition

The composition of the team has varied over time. All players in the 1908, 1912, 1920 and 1956 squads were English, while in other years players from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were all included.[1] The 2012 squad contained 13 English and 5 Welsh players but no Scottish or Northern Irish players.[58] Jack Butland, the third choice goalkeeper for England, was the only player selected for both the Olympics and the England Euro 2012 squad.[80] Ryan Giggs, Craig Bellamy and Micah Richards were selected as the three overage players.[81] Former England captain David Beckham was shortlisted for the Olympics, but was left out of the final squad.[81]

London 2012 squad

The Great Britain squad for the 2012 Olympic Games was announced on 2 July 2012, with Ryan Giggs named as captain.[82]

  • The three overage players are denoted with a *
  • Clubs listed are those which held the player's registration during the Olympics
  • Players' ages are those which the player were at the day of their first game at the Olympics
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Jack Butland (1993-03-10)10 March 1993 (aged 19) 5 0 Birmingham City
18 1GK Jason Steele (1990-08-18)18 August 1990 (aged 21) 1 0 Middlesbrough
2 2DF Neil Taylor (1989-02-07)7 February 1989 (aged 23) 5 0 Swansea City
3 2DF Ryan Bertrand (1989-08-05)5 August 1989 (aged 22) 4 0 Chelsea
5 2DF Steven Caulker (1991-12-29)29 December 1991 (aged 20) 5 0 Tottenham Hotspur
6 2DF Craig Dawson (1990-05-06)6 May 1990 (aged 22) 3 0 West Bromwich Albion
12 2DF James Tomkins (1989-03-29)29 March 1989 (aged 23) 2 0 West Ham United
14 2DF Micah Richards* (1988-06-24)24 June 1988 (aged 24) 5 0 Manchester City
4 3MF Danny Rose (1990-07-02)2 July 1990 (aged 22) 4 0 Tottenham Hotspur
7 3MF Tom Cleverley (1989-08-12)12 August 1989 (aged 22) 5 0 Manchester United
8 3MF Joe Allen (1990-03-14)14 March 1990 (aged 22) 5 0 Swansea City
11 3MF Ryan Giggs* (captain) (1973-11-29)29 November 1973 (aged 38) 4 1 Manchester United
13 3MF Jack Cork (1989-06-25)25 June 1989 (aged 23) 4 0 Southampton
15 3MF Aaron Ramsey (1990-12-26)26 December 1990 (aged 21) 5 1 Arsenal
16 3MF Scott Sinclair (1989-03-25)25 March 1989 (aged 23) 4 1 Swansea City
9 4FW Daniel Sturridge (1989-09-01)1 September 1989 (aged 22) 5 2 Chelsea
10 4FW Craig Bellamy* (1979-07-13)13 July 1979 (aged 33) 5 1 Liverpool
17 4FW Marvin Sordell (1991-02-17)17 February 1991 (aged 21) 3 0 Bolton Wanderers

Records and statistics

Olympics record
Olympics record
Year Manager[83] Squad Round Position G W D L GF GA GD %
1900 Upton Park F.C. represented GB Gold medal 1st place
1904Did not enter
1908 Alfred Davis 1908 squadGold medal1st place 3 3 0 0 18 1 +17 100.00
1912 Adrian Birch1912 squadGold medal1st place 3 3 0 0 15 2 +13 100.00
1920 George Latham1920 squad1st round– 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 000.00
1924Did not enter
1928
1936 William Voisey1936 squadQuarter-finals– 2 1 0 1 6 5 +1 050.00
1948 Matt Busby1948 squadFourth place4th place 4 2 0 2 9 11 −2 050.00
1952 Walter Winterbottom1952 squadPreliminary round– 1 0 0 1 3 5 −2 000.00
1956 Norman Creek1956 squadQuarter-finals– 2 1 0 1 10 6 +4 050.00
19601960 squad1st round– 3 1 1 1 8 8 +0 033.33
1964 Charles Hughes Did not qualify
1968
1972
1976 Did not enter
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012 Stuart Pearce2012 squad Quarter-finals – 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 050.00
2016 Did not enter
2020
Total10/273 medals 23 13 3 7 76 44 +32 56.52

1908 final
Great Britain 2–0 Denmark
Chapman  20'
Woodward  46'		 Report
Attendance: 8,000

1912 final
Great Britain 4–2 Denmark
Hoare  22', 41'
Walden  10'
Berry  43'		 Report Olsen  27', 81'
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Christiaan Groothoff (Netherlands)

Full Olympic record

This is a full round-up of Great Britain's performances at the Olympic Games.[84][85]

London 1908

20 October 1908 1908 Olympics – R1/QF Great Britain  12–1  Sweden London, UK
Stapley  10'
Woodward  ?', ?'
Berry  ?'
Chapman  ?'
Purnell  ?', ?', ?', ?'
Hawkes  ?', ?'		 Report Bergström  65' Stadium: White City Stadium
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: John Ibbotson (GB)
22 October 1908 1908 Olympics – SF Great Britain  4–0  Netherlands London, UK
Stapley  37', 60', 64', 75' Report Stadium: White City Stadium
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: John Howcroft (GB)
24 October 1908 1908 Olympics – Final Great Britain  2–0  Denmark London, UK
Chapman  20'
Woodward  65'		 Report Stadium: White City Stadium
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: John Lewis (GB)


Stockholm 1912

30 June 1912 1912 Olympics – R2/QF Hungary 0–7  Great Britain Stockholm, Sweden
Report Walden  21', 23', 49', 55', 85'
Woodward  45', 53'		 Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Christiaan Groothoff (Sweden)
2 July 1912 1912 Olympics – SF Finland 0–4  Great Britain Stockholm, Sweden
Report Holopainen  2' (OG)
Walden  7', 77'
Woodward  82'		 Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Ruben Gelbord (Sweden)
4 July 1912 1912 Olympics – Final Denmark  2–4  Great Britain Stockholm, Sweden
Olsen  27', 81' Report Walden  10'
Hoare  22', 41'
Berry  43'		 Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Christiaan Groothoff (Sweden)


Antwerp 1920

28 August 1920 1920 Olympics – R1 Norway  3–1  Great Britain Antwerp, Belgium
Gundersen  13', 51'
Wilhelms  63'		 Report Nicholas  25' Stadium: Olympisch Stadion
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Johannes Mutters (Netherlands)


Berlin 1936

6 August 1936 1936 Olympics – R1 China  0–2  Great Britain Berlin, Nazi Germany
Report Dodds  55'
Finch  65'		 Stadium: Mommsenstadion
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Helmut Fink (Nazi Germany)
8 August 1936 1936 Olympics – QF Poland  5–4  Great Britain Berlin, Nazi Germany
Gad  33'
Wodarz  43', 48', 53'
Piec  56'		 Report Clements  26'
Shearer  71'
Joy  78', 80'		 Stadium: Poststadion
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Rudolf Eklöw (Sweden)


Note: As of 1948, many Eastern Bloc states, such as Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, played with their full national sides in the Olympics, while Britain always competed with an amateur team, as per Olympic requirements.[86][87][88]


London 1948

31 July 1948 1948 Olympics – R1 Great Britain  4–3 (a.e.t.)  Netherlands London, UK
McBain  22'
Hardisty  58'
Kelleher  77'
McIlvenny  111'		 Report Appel  9', 63'
Wilkes  81'		 Stadium: Highbury Stadium
Attendance: 21,000
Referee: Valdemar Laursen (Denmark)
5 August 1948 1948 Olympics – QF Great Britain  1–0  France London, UK
Hardisty  29' Report Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Karel van der Meer (Netherlands)
11 August 1948 1948 Olympics – SF Great Britain  1–3  Yugoslavia London, UK
Donovan  20' Report Bobek  19'
Wölfl  24'
Mitić  48'		 Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Karel van der Meer (Netherlands)
13 August 1948 1948 Olympics – Bronze Great Britain  3–5  Denmark London, UK
Aitken  5'
Hardisty  33'
Amor  63'		 Report Præst  12', 49'
Hansen  16', 77'
Sørensen  41'		 Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Karel van der Meer (Netherlands)


Helsinki 1952

16 July 1952 1952 Olympics – Prelim Luxembourg  5–3
aet		  Great Britain Lahti, Finland
Roller  60', 95', 97'
Letsch  91'
Gales  102'		 Report Robb  12'
Slater  101'
Lewis  118'		 Stadium: Lahden kisapuisto
Attendance: 3,740
Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy)


Melbourne 1956

23 October 1955 1956 Olympics – Qualifying Bulgaria  2–0  Great Britain Sofia, Bulgaria
Stefanov  30'
Yanev  61'		 Report Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Giorgio Bernardi (Italy)
12 May 1956 1956 Olympics – Qualifying Great Britain  3–3
(3–5 agg.)		  Bulgaria London, UK
Hardisty  12', 62'
Lewis  77' (pen.)		 Report Milanov  28'
Prince  32' (o.g.)
Dimitrov  66'		 Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Giorgio Bernardi (Italy)
Note: Britain lost 5–3 on aggregate, but earned a reprieve to compete in Melbourne[87]
26 November 1956 1956 Olympics – R1 Thailand  0–9  Great Britain Melbourne, Australia
Report Twissell  12', 20'
Lewis  21' (pen.)
Laybourne  30', 82', 85'
Bromilow  75', 78'
Topp  90'		 Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 3,693
Referee: Nikolay Latyshev (USSR)
30 November 1956 1956 Olympics – QF Bulgaria  6–1  Great Britain Melbourne, Australia
Dimitrov  6'
Kolev  40', 85'
Milanov  45', 75', 80'		 Report Lewis  30' Stadium: Olympic Park Stadium
Attendance: 6,748
Referee: Ron Wright (Australia)


Rome 1960

21 November 1959 1960 Olympics – Qualifying Great Britain  3–2  Republic of Ireland Hove, UK
Devine  1'
Hasty  45', 80'		 Report
Report		 Aherne
Rice		 Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 7,800
Referee: Arthur Blavier (Belgium)
13 March 1960 1960 Olympics – Qualifying Republic of Ireland  1–3  Great Britain Dublin, Ireland
McGrath  ?' Report
Report		 Coates  ?'
Brown  ?'
Harding  ?'		 Stadium: Dalymount Park
Attendance: 19,000
2 April 1960 1960 Olympics – Qualifying Netherlands  1–5  Great Britain Zwolle, Netherlands
Hainje  29' Report Lewis  ?', ?', ?'
Lindsay  25'
Brown  31'		 Stadium: Oosterenkstadion or at ZAC
Attendance: 9,000
13 April 1960 1960 Olympics – Qualifying Great Britain  2–2
(GB qualify)[89]		  Netherlands London, UK
Brown  ?'
Lewis  ?'		 Report De Kleermaeker  ?'
Bouwman  ?'		 Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 3,950


26 August 1960 1960 Olympics – Groups Brazil  4–3  Great Britain Livorno, Italy
Gérson  2'
China  61',  72'
Wanderley  64'[90]		 Report
Report		 Brown  32', 87'
Lewis  47'		 Stadium: Stadio di Ardenza
Attendance: 13,590
Referee: Josef Kandlbinder (FR Germany)
29 August 1960 1960 Olympics – Groups Italy  2–2  Great Britain Rome, Italy
13:00 Rossano  11', 55' Report Brown  23'
Hasty  75'		 Referee: Lucien van Nuffel (Belgium)
1 September 1960 1960 Olympics – Groups Great Britain  3–2  Republic of China Grosseto, Italy
12:00 Lewis  35'
Brown  58'
Hasty  85'		 Report Chuk Yin Yiu  70', 88' Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Comunale
Referee: Josef Kandlbinder (FR Germany)


London 2012

See also: Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
26 July 2012 2012 Olympics – Groups Great Britain  1–1  Senegal Manchester, UK
20:00 Bellamy  20' Report Konaté  82' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 72,176[91]
Referee: Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
29 July 2012 2012 Olympics – Groups Great Britain  3–1  United Arab Emirates London, UK
19:45 Giggs  16'
Sinclair  73'
Sturridge  76'		 Report Eisa  60' Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 85,137[92]
Referee: García (Mexico)
1 August 2012 2012 Olympics – Groups Great Britain  1–0  Uruguay Cardiff, UK
19:45 Sturridge  45+1' Report Stadium: Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 70,438[93]
Referee: Nishimura (Japan)
4 August 2012 2012 Olympics – Quarter-finals Great Britain  1–1aet
(4–5 p)		  South Korea Cardiff, UK
19:30 Ramsey  36' (pen.) Report Ji Dong-won  29' Stadium: Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 70,171[94]
Referee: Roldán (Colombia)
Penalties

See also

References
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