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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Olympic football play-offs call | Olympic football play-offs call |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Tory leader David Cameron has suggested a football team to represent Britain at the 2012 London Olympics could be decided by a home nations tournament. | Tory leader David Cameron has suggested a football team to represent Britain at the 2012 London Olympics could be decided by a home nations tournament. |
| Mr Cameron said a play-off could decide which of the UK's four national teams represented Britain at the Games. | Mr Cameron said a play-off could decide which of the UK's four national teams represented Britain at the Games. |
| The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to the notion of a combined Great Britain team. | The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to the notion of a combined Great Britain team. |
| They fear the implications for their own futures as separate entities. | They fear the implications for their own futures as separate entities. |
| Britain has not had a football team at the Olympics since 1960 because of concerns a combined British team could affect the status of individual nations within football's governing body Fifa. | Britain has not had a football team at the Olympics since 1960 because of concerns a combined British team could affect the status of individual nations within football's governing body Fifa. |
| Mr Cameron told BBC Scotland's Politics Show there was a need for one national team when it came to the Olympics. | Mr Cameron told BBC Scotland's Politics Show there was a need for one national team when it came to the Olympics. |
| 'Daft' proposal | 'Daft' proposal |
| "Maybe the answer is to have a home tournament, see who wins and that team goes forward, but for the Olympics we've got to settle this so there is a representative team," he said. | "Maybe the answer is to have a home tournament, see who wins and that team goes forward, but for the Olympics we've got to settle this so there is a representative team," he said. |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown has expressed his determination to reach a deal over entering men's and women's British football teams at the London games. | Prime Minister Gordon Brown has expressed his determination to reach a deal over entering men's and women's British football teams at the London games. |
| The Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland football bodies have opposed any such move in case it affects their international status. | The Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland football bodies have opposed any such move in case it affects their international status. |
| Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said: "What we're talking about in the Olympics is an under-21 team and the idea that, in any sense, we should risk the future of Scottish international football for the sake of participation in an under-21 tournament in the Olympics, I think it simply daft." | |
| The first minister urged all parties to stick with the Scottish Football Association's position. | The first minister urged all parties to stick with the Scottish Football Association's position. |
| He added: "They take some knocks from time to time, but they know infinitely more about the workings of Fifa than David Cameron, Gordon Brown, or even Alex Salmond." | He added: "They take some knocks from time to time, but they know infinitely more about the workings of Fifa than David Cameron, Gordon Brown, or even Alex Salmond." |