The 2024 Olympic Games means another football tournament is getting underway. Olympic football has some subtle differences to other international tournaments, the main one being that FIFA only allows players aged 23 or under to participate in the men’s competition, apart from three exceptions.
This is in contrast to the women’s equivalent, which treats the Olympic Games as a top-level tournament.
There is no Great Britain team in either tournament this year, with England failing to qualify via the Women’s Nations League, while the men have not entered a team since 2012, which was their first GB football team at the Olympics since 1960.
The very idea of a GB squad in 2012 was met with much derision, even to the point that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had initially insisted that they would not participate in a unified team.
In the end, only Welsh players were selected alongside English players in the 18-player squad, which was managed by Stuart Pearce.
After topping a group consisting of Senegal, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, Team GB were knocked out in the quarter-finals by South Korea, who won 5-4 on penalties at the Millennium Stadium.
But who were those players involved, and where are they now? Here’s a reminder of that men’s squad and how their careers have panned out since.
Why is there no Great Britain football team at the Paris Olympics?
Olympic football is back this summer, but Team GB will once again play no part.
Micah Richards' net worth, girlfriend, haircut, retirement, age, salary, book
FFC takes a look at Micah Richards, his career and his life after football.
ByJack Salveson HolmesNov 5, 2023 Danny Rose Tottenham Hotspur
Another former player who has crossed into punditry, Danny Rose played for Spurs across 14 years, where his finest moment arguably came on his debut when scoring in a north London derby at White Hart Lane.
That said, he had a relatively successful international career, earning 29 caps for England, with eight of those coming in major tournaments.
Rose started the first game at the London Olympics but only made two further sub appearances, including during extra-time of the quarter-final.
Neil Taylor Swansea City
One of five Welshmen in the team, Swansea’s Neil Taylor was also one of three players based in south Wales at the time.
Taylor became a Premier League regular during the Welsh club’s stay in the top flight, before dropping a division to turn out for Aston Villa and Middlesbrough towards the end of his career.
The full-back also excelled internationally, having been a part of the Wales Euro 2016 squad that reached the semi-finals, with Taylor scoring in their group stage win over Russia. He also played every minute for Team GB at the 2012 Games.
Taylor is now assistant manager for Wales’ Under-21 side.
James Tomkins West Ham United
James Tomkins recently left Crystal Palace after eight years at Selhurst Park. The defender had moved across the capital from West Ham United, though he never made a senior appearance for England.
Tomkins only made one appearance for Team GB, playing 90 minutes in their group victory over UAE. He is now looking for a new club at the age of 35.
Joe Allen Swansea City
Joe Allen had just starred for a Swansea City side that more than held their own in their first season as a Premier League club, so his inclusion won’t have been a huge surprise.
What may have raised a few eyebrows would have been his ever-presence in the side, starting every game under Pearce and assisting Daniel Sturridge’s winner against Uruguay in the group stages.
Allen spent ten years away from his boyhood club at Liverpool and Stoke City, returning to Swansea in 2022, where he remains to this day.