AIBU to wonder why the UK gets 4 teams in the World Cup, whereas France only gets one.

[TheKittenswithMittens]

Why don't we play as UK in the World Cup? Why do we get 4 teams when everyone else gets just the one? It would bring an end to anyone but England sentiment.

No it’s not.

Great Britain is a team at the Olympics. Not the United Kingdom. We don’t enter a football team, haven’t for quite a while now - precisely because of this issue. If we were to enter a joint team to the Olympics, FIFA could revoke the independent status of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Realistically Team GB or the UK team would be England. So it’s unfair to the other home nations.

I wouldn’t exactly say “many”, somewhere between 1 and 2% of people in Scotland hold Irish passports and in England it’s only 0.7-0.9%, the only country with many is Ni at 50%.

Source?

Um...because Normandy is a region of France, not a country in its own right.

Would totally support it if it did play though 😂

I've found the answers to my Team GB questions.

The Olympic team uses "Great Britain" because it is the historical name under which the British Olympic Association has competed since the modern Olympic Games began in 1896. Officially, the delegation is named the "Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team"

The Olympic team actually represents more than just the United Kingdom. In addition to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the team includes Crown Dependencies (like the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) and UK Overseas Territories (like Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands), none of which are technically part of the UK. Using "Team UK" wouldn't work either.

Geoff Capes held the door of a Little Chef open for me c.1984. Can confirm he's nice.

I met an English man at Nice airport France (not Normandy OP, it’s Provence/Alpes *) on Tuesday. He too was travelling on an Irish passport due to Brexit. Both my Irish parents were entitled to a British passport if they wanted. Never worked or lived in the UK. My father got one to have a spare one and it was convenient for certain countries back in the day …

• fun football fact, Zinedine Zidane was born there, in Marseille to be exact, one of the greats French footballers ever, affectionately known as Zizou.

Anyway I digress, waiting for more clarity on Wales not being a country …. I must have imagined it the mighty craic we had at the rugby in Cardiff Arms Park …

I'm Scottish and find the whole "Anyone but England" thing deeply embarrassing. Sadly it's very prevalent even among children.

There's a man in our town who has a flagpole in his garden. Whenever England are playing, he flies a flag of their opponents. Imagine going to the expense of buying all those flags just to prove what an idiot you are.

The football associations for England, Wales, Scotland were in place, and international matches played between them, decades before FIFA and UEFA even existed.

World cup is a competition between Football Association, not sovereign nations. There are independent countries that do not have a football association and therefore they are not allowed to enter world cup.

It’s funny, and I say that as an English person

meh. Its football, who gives a fuck?

Geoff Capes died in 2024. Somewhat off topic!

Team GB has entered a football team to Olympics. They didn't qualify for the 2024 Olympics. It was decided that England represented GB in the qualifying process (Nations league) and ironically their game against Scotland was the one that ended up determining that GB did not make it. In 2020 and 2012 they made it to quarter finals. The team is mainly england players with few Scottish and Welsh players.

I haven't RTFT (and never was that "F" more deserved), but the UK doesn't have 4 teams in the World Cup, because Wales and Northern Ireland failed to qualify.

Ok, now, when we established some facts, can we get back to the question?

If we take Welsh in the UK, Catalonia in Spain and Bavaria in Germany. All are intermally independent to some extent - have their own laws, governments, have their own language or distinguishable dialect, have their own cultural identity.

Neither is recognised internationally, have embassy, passports, ...

If we put history aside snd would be drafting the world cup now. Would there be any reason to have separate Welsh participation, but not the other two?

The same reason Curaçao is playing at this World Cup, despite there being a Netherlands team as well - separate FIFA memberships.

England isn’t a country now, decided by one person on mumsnet with no power to make such decisions 🤡

The biggest issue is commentators who bang on about 1966.
Man its 60 years ago.

But I think your neighbour is funny, literally pins his colours to the masts 😁
Hope he has a great time tonight x

Oh lighten up! I'm Scottish and it's always been "Anyone but England" where footie is concerned. Including in my family, and my mother was born in England!

It would be less glaringly wrong though.

Thats like saying why doesnt Europe just play as one team because they share the same landmass and have a collective union.

That's all that needed ro be said really. Some really did take such offence at the op's reasonable question.

Any football association registered with FIFA can enter the World Cup. It’s not a country v country per se, it’s a national football association clubs competition.

PMSL