Scottish FA Dismiss BOA Claims of Team GB in London 2012 Soccer Tournament

June 21, 2011

British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Andy Hunt has been accused of trying to hype-up expectations that the Great Britain team taking part in the London 2012 soccer tournament will contain Scottish and Welsh players.

The claim was made by Stewart Regan, chief executive of the Scottish Football Association (SFA), who is angry with Hunt’s claims that he is “incredibly positive” that a solution to the ongoing row is upcoming.

Regan insists that the position of the SFA remains unchanged and that they will refuse to endorse Team GB due to fears that it will jeopardise their independence to compete in events such as the World Cup and the European Championships as Scotland.

Regan said: “Our position remains: we are opposed to taking part in Team GB.”

He added: “We need to protect our identity and we have no interest in taking part.”

Hunt’s comments coincided with Sebastian Coe, London 2012 chairman, revealing that 1.7 million tickets remain available for Olympic soccer matches taking place, including at Hampden Park in Glasgow and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.