World Cup question for my British friends...

[E5RSY]

Why is there not a single combined UK team for this competition? Seems like the current scenario is just a good way to dilute your talent pool by spreading top players across multiple teams. I can only imagine that a single British team would be much stronger. Thanks for any insight.

Scott

 

[buster poser]

Why do England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland play as separate teams if they belong to UK?

The home nations’ role in developing football is behind FIFA’s willingness to allow them to compete as separate teams.

en.as.com

 

[Bendyha]

Ahh... why does the "World Series" only have American baseball teams competing?

 

[E5RSY]

Why do England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland play as separate teams if they belong to UK?

The home nations’ role in developing football is behind FIFA’s willingness to allow them to compete as separate teams.

en.as.com

Makes sense...still seems self-defeating.

 

[BobTheOwl]

Each UK nation has their own football association, with their own vote and identity within FIFA and UEFA, so we all prefer to go it alone.

I can't see many Scots sitting alongside England to support a combined team.

 

[buster poser]

Makes sense...still seems self-defeating.

Only if there's a collective sense of "self" in play. Doesn't seem like that is the case.

 

[blue metalflake]

There’s no overarching body for the UK, nor can I imagine there would be any desire from Wales, Scotland or NI to have one. England play Wales tonight in the World Cup & the competition will be fierce. UK is 4 separate countries, especially in sport.

 

[E5RSY]

Only if there's a collective sense of "self" in play. Doesn't seem like that is the case.

Right.

 

[Peter Graham]

I can't see many Scots sitting alongside England to support a combined team.

The chip-on-the-shoulder Anglophobia that accompanies all sporting events is pretty mean-spirited and tedious, I grant you (notwithstanding it says far more about the people doling it out than it ever does about the English), but the UK does turn out as a combined unit for so many things and, thankfully, I've never noticed any issues at all with everyone getting behind the team.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Ahh... why does the "World Series" only have American baseball teams competing?

A-and can we discuss "Miss Universe"?

 

[BobTheOwl]

The chip-on-the-shoulder Anglophobia that accompanies all sporting events is pretty mean-spirited and tedious, I grant you (notwithstanding it says far more about the people doling it out than it ever does about the English), but the UK does turn out as a combined unit for so many things and, thankfully, I've never noticed any issues at all with everyone getting behind the team.

Football is a different animal to most other sports. A few beers and it easily turns sane people into tribal bellends.

anyway I’m off now so I can watch us smash the welsh

 

[Rustbucket]

Why do England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland play as separate teams if they belong to UK?

The home nations’ role in developing football is behind FIFA’s willingness to allow them to compete as separate teams.

en.as.com

This bit from the article is just plain awesome:

“Indeed, Szymanski even believes it would contribute to the break-up of the UK. “I would go as far to say, if FIFA actually did ever force Britain to field a single team, rather than have four home nations, the Scots would actually demand independence,” he told Business Insider. “They had an independence referendum a couple of years ago [in 2014], which they lost narrowly, it would be overwhelmingly in favor of independence if they lost their soccer team, because that's the only way they'd get their soccer team back. And that would be easily important enough to the Scots, I have no doubt about that in my mind."”
️

 

[Rusty Spanner]

Because it's more fun that way.

We compete as Great Britain (Wales, Scotland & England) in the Olympics and usually in Rugby League (the proper kind of Rugby, not the one that just keeps middle class thugs off the street for a few hours at the weekend).
The Rugby Union guys do sometimes compete as the British and Irish Lions for test matches, but that includes Republic of Ireland players too, as well as players from the United Kingdom (Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England).

I imagine it's very confusing if you don't live here.

 

[Cloodie]

Makes sense...still seems self-defeating.

Not really.

 

[john_cribbin]

I'm not sure anyone would agree to what 'British' actually means.

Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain, but it joins England, Scotland and Wales as part of the United Kingdom.

British seems to be a generic term that people recognise, but when asked, the vast majority of people would identify as British second to the nation they were born in.

At school we were taught British history, which essentially was English history and how the Scots, Welsh and Irish were kept in their place!

 

[Rustbucket]

Tradition and rivalries aside, the OP’s point is certainly valid that a combined UK team should be more competitive.

 

[Kandinskyesque]

The game originated in England, so I suppose the 4 separate countries that comprise the UK had their own associations just like many other sports prior to that.

The oldest international game in the world is Scotland v England (or vice versa depending on where you're from).

It will be 150 years old next year and commemorated with a match at Hampden Stadium in Glasgow.

I think local rivalry does the game good which is why most large UK cities have 2 main senior teams (more in London).

 

[Rusty Spanner]

"john_cribbin
Friend of Leo's
I'm not sure anyone would agree to what 'British' actually means."

Are you happy to stand in a queue?

Do you take the piss out of people you like, but are unfailingly polite to those that you hate?

Do you apologise if someone bumps into you in the street?

Are you constantly surprised when it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter?

Do you apologise to people when you visit countries that were once part of The Empire?

Do you still consider any food that isn't brown slightly exotic?

Do you believe that the rest of the world might be quite good at making music, given another couple of hundred years?

 

[jackinjax]

Just too complicated and confusing to contemplate. Akin to the term American. If you say I'm from America and everyone assumes you're referring to the US of A.
I think I'll leave it there.

 

[uriah1]

Do any good players come from the Carribean British territories?