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Should There Be Four UK Teams in International Football?


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I know there is an international thread but it doesnt get that much attention. 

I think technically England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland arent really countries. United kingdom is the country and they are constituencies. So should we really be allowed to have national teams? It's not a question of what you want it's more a questions of when you look at the rules should we really  allowed to have 4 representations from one country?

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15 hours ago, Gunnersauraus said:

I know there is an international thread but it doesnt get that much attention. 

I think technically England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland arent really countries. United kingdom is the country and they are constituencies. So should we really be allowed to have national teams? It's not a question of what you want it's more a questions of when you look at the rules should we really  allowed to have 4 representations from one country?

I wasn't even aware that they weren't all individual countries 🤔.  

I always wondered why the UK competes in the Olympics but all of the "countries" compete individually in football.

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16 hours ago, Gunnersauraus said:

I think technically England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland arent really countries.

They are 4 separate countries that make up the sovereign state of the United Kingdom. They will always be separate as such. They are countries. 

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This has been talked about for years and even other countries have said why can Great Britain be allowed to field 4 national teams, they should just have one team called Great Britain.

Can't see it ever happening as you would have more English players chosen for the side than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland players because the English football League is superior with English based teams than the latter.

You could go the Rugby Union/League way and choose a British Lions side but that would be just for international friendly matches and tours only something like the Baa Baa's (Barbarians) but the Rugby Union/League have 15 & 13 players plus subs in a side wherein football (soccer) you only have 11 players and subs.

England have been the only Home Nation to have any major success internationally, winning the 1966 World Cup. Scotland have qualified for the final tournaments of eight World Cups and three European Championships, but have never progressed beyond the group stage of any international tournament. Wales reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in 2016, but have not qualified for a World Cup finals tournament since 1958 and neither have Northern Ireland since 1986.

This is sometimes raised as an argument in favour of a single United Kingdom national team: based on statistical analysis. In June 2006, it was estimated that a United Kingdom national team would have had a one-third greater chance of winning the 2006 World Cup than England did at the tournament's outset. Opponents of the plan argue that the existing footballing identities of the fans of the Home Nations should not be sacrificed simply to stand a better chance of success.

There has been limited support for the creation of a permanent British national team. Although often hypothetical in nature, such a proposal has been put forward by prominent government ministers, including Jack Straw and Tony Banks. In July 2014, after England performed poorly in the 2014 World Cup, Conservative MP Laurence Robertson submitted an early day motion, calling for a United Kingdom Football Team.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_national_football_team

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2 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

They are 4 separate countries that make up the sovereign state of the United Kingdom. They will always be separate as such. They are countries. 

If they are countries so are the states of the USA and Australia.

They are ‘seperate’ but they make the ‘united’ kingdom, but they are really seperate guys. Trust me.

Why was there a bloody Scottish independence referendum if they are already ‘seperate’

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11 minutes ago, Spike said:

If they are countries so are the states of the USA and Australia.

They are ‘seperate’ but they make the ‘united’ kingdom, but they are really seperate guys. Trust me.

Why was there a bloody Scottish independence referendum if they are already ‘seperate’

Good point being able to make independent decisions in foreign relations is what majorly qualifies as being a country otherwise some of the autonomous region of Russia are more independent than states in US or Australia.

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2 minutes ago, Aladdin said:

Good point being able to make independent decisions in foreign relations is what majorly qualifies as being a country otherwise some of the autonomous region of Russia are more independent than states in US or Australia.

Brits just get confused because they call Wales, England, N.Ireland, and England ‘countries’, which is fine because that is what they call them. But they get all in a huff and puff when you say they aren’t really countries because they aren’t sovereign states, which they aren’t. They like to confuse matters by referring to referring to England and Italy both as countries despite the fact they are fundamentally different.

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3 hours ago, Spike said:

If they are countries so are the states of the USA and Australia.

They are ‘seperate’ but they make the ‘united’ kingdom, but they are really seperate guys. Trust me.

Why was there a bloody Scottish independence referendum if they are already ‘seperate’

Can't tell if this is satire or not, so fair play because the more I read it the more I get Brent/Partridge vibes

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I don't think we should mix the 4 teams because a lot of people have a lot more nationalistic identity with the countries they were born in rather than with the UK as a whole.

I can't see Gareth Bale giving as much of a shit about playing with the England XI + Andy Robertson as he does with Wales. Same with Robertson.

Plus we saw how bad a divided England squad was when players were in cliques based on their clubs during England's "golden era". Now imagine a UK side with cliques based off national identity - I think it's potentially more divisive.

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7 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I don't think we should mix the 4 teams because a lot of people have a lot more nationalistic identity with the countries they were born in rather than with the UK as a whole.

I can't see Gareth Bale giving as much of a shit about playing with the England XI + Andy Robertson as he does with Wales. Same with Robertson.

Plus we saw how bad a divided England squad was when players were in cliques based on their clubs during England's "golden era". Now imagine a UK side with cliques based off national identity - I think it's potentially more divisive.

In other words: Other sovereign states should accept the UK is the only sovereign state with 4 national teams, because it's suits the emotional state of UK citizens the best?

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12 minutes ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

In other words: Other sovereign states should accept the UK is the only sovereign state with 4 national teams, because it's suits the emotional state of UK citizens the best?

We invented football so we get special rules.

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7 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

They are 4 separate countries that make up the sovereign state of the United Kingdom. They will always be separate as such. They are countries. 

The uk is classed as a country. Normally teams under one government are classed as countries by fifa. Britian is under one government. Its complicated to say what the four contries are as I dont think they have ever  been given a clear definition. They are classed as regions by some. When the Soviet union was around they played together as one country. In other sports it wouldn't be an issue as the rules are more relaxed. However in football the rules are fairly strict. In some ways you could argue jersey, Guernsey and the isle of man have more right to their own national teams as they are not part of the united kingdom 

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On 27/03/2022 at 20:09, Gunnersauraus said:

I know there is an international thread but it doesnt get that much attention. 

I think technically England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland arent really countries. United kingdom is the country and they are constituencies. So should we really be allowed to have national teams? It's not a question of what you want it's more a questions of when you look at the rules should we really  allowed to have 4 representations from one country?

They should be separate as they're all different countries.

Plus, other than England they are all massively shit at football.

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13 minutes ago, Whiskey said:

They should be separate as they're all different countries.

Plus, other than England they are all massively shit at football.

They're  not sovereign countries though. UK is the sovereign country. I'm not complaining I dont want a uk team but not sure if its really fair

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11 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Taiwan gets its own national team and technically they're "not a country"... even though they effectively are a country.

I don't see what the big deal is behind the 4 separate UK international sides.

Like I said I like it that way. And in other sports it wouldn't be an issue as the rules arent so strict. My question was whether it is breaking the rules or not. Even if it was I think fifa let it go as it's always been that way. But that was why the other three countries didnt want an Olympic gb team I think. They were worried we would be forced to go as GB. Like I said of you read the article above it is allowed with other similar states so I think it is fair. I do think Guernsey,Jersey and isle of man should be allowed their own team though. They arent even part if the UK they are a crown dependency. I find these things quite interesting actually.

Out of interest do they cheer England in the isle of man @RandoEFC

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4 hours ago, Whiskey said:

They should be separate as they're all different countries.

Plus, other than England they are all massively shit at football.

Being half English & Scottish that is spot on, the Scottish league is nowhere near the English league which can produce more homegrown players, it's fact that the English Leagues attract far more Scottish, Welsh & Irish players thus countries like Scotland are bled dry for home bred and born players.

Scotland once upon a time did have a good Scottish squad of players like Dalgleish, Jordon, McQueen, Gemmill, McKay, Bremner, Law, Johnston, McCoist, Souness, Hansen etc, that did qualify for World Cups and European competitions on a regular basis, not anymore I am afraid to say.  

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