The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has “never discussed the possibility” of Great Britain sending a men’s football team to the 2028 Olympic Games, says chief executive Noel Mooney.
The British Olympic Association (BOA) announced earlier this month that it wanted to unite England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to field a British men’s team for the first time since London 2012.
That squad included five Welshmen, including current Welsh manager Craig Bellamy and captain Aaron Ramsey.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have always played against a unified team in the past.
“We have not heard anything directly about this Team GB concept ourselves and we have never discussed it here,” Mooney told BBC Sport Wales.
“We are a football nation. We are now competing in tournaments on a regular basis. We expect to be competing in tournaments and our focus here is very much on Wales competing in tournaments. That is our focus.”
“I haven’t heard anything about it other than what I’ve heard in the media. We haven’t talked about it here, but if there is a discussion, our position is very clear that we are focused on our national team’s games in the world.”
The women’s team of the Great Britain team is eligible to qualify but has not qualified for Paris 2024.
In men’s football, Great Britain was a regular participant in the Olympics until 1960 and, after failing to qualify for the next three games, decided not to field a team.
This led to resistance from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, who felt that their independence in FIFA and UEFA competitions would be threatened if they competed in the Olympic Games as a closed organization.
They agreed a compromise for the 2012 Games whereby they would not stand in the way of the selection of players for Team GB, on the condition that it was a one-off deal. However, the BOA’s comments have reignited the controversial debate.
After the Paris Olympics earlier this month, BOA chief executive Andy Anson said a British men’s team at the Los Angeles Games in four years’ time would be “great for football”.
A team of 13 English and five Welsh players – including fellow Welsh players Joe Allen, Neil Taylor and Ryan Giggs – took part in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, despite the FAW rejecting the plans seven years earlier.
At this point, Wales had not taken part in a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, but had since qualified for two European Championships and a World Cup.
When then-England coach Sam Allardyce raised the possibility of a repeat in 2016, his then-Welsh counterpart Chris Coleman rejected the idea.
On that occasion, the English Football Association had put forward the idea of sending British teams to the Olympic Games. However, FIFA stated that this would require the consent of the governing bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which were against it.
In addition to the nations, the BOA’s plans to field a British men’s team at the 2028 Olympic Games could also face resistance from clubs who may not want to release their players during the busy summer season.
The games in Los Angeles will take place from July 14 to 30, just days after the 2028 European Championship final at Wembley and a few weeks before the start of the new league season.
