Scots Launch ‘anti-team Gb’ Campaign

A campaign fronted by former Scotland manager Craig Brown has been launched protesting against plans to include a British football team in the London 2012 Olympics.

The petition has been launched with a view to gathering support within Scottish football to halt such plans.

The Scottish Football Association has indicated opposition to a British team while their Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts have also come out strongly against the proposals put forward by world football governing body FIFA.

The English Football Association however is thought to support the plans in principle.

Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy recently gained assurances from FIFA that a one-off under-23 squad in 2012 would not impact on the home teams’ standings despite quotes attributed to FIFA president Sepp Blatter to the contrary.

The petition, entitled ‘Save Scottish Football’, has been launched by Brown and the SNP’s Christine Grahame calling on her fellow MSPs to assess the knock-on social and economic impact north of the Border should a GB football team take part.

Grahame, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s health and sport committee, said: ‘The threat posed by the creation of a GB football team goes way beyond football and if FIFA carries out the action outlined by their president just last year then that would have a catastrophic social and economic impact in Scotland as well as killing off the football in Scotland as we know it.

‘No one, bar a handful of politically-motivated zealots in London, wants a GB football team precisely because they recognise the huge threat this poses.

‘Craig Brown’s petition is a welcome contribution and will give Scots the chance to let their voices be heard by MSPs.’