Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said the idea of a British football team playing at the 2012 London Olympics is a non-starter.


Ferguson had been named as the ideal coach for a combined team by 2012 organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe last weekend, with Coe revealing he had discussed the issue with the Scot.
But Ferguson, speaking in Johannesburg on the eve of Manchester United's match against South African club Kaizer Chiefs in the final of a pre-season exhibition tournament, dismissed the idea.
"I would not in any way, shape or form try to commit myself to anything like that," he said. I'm not sure they'd allow it. Countries have their own identity, their own patriotism.
"It has been mooted for a number of years by FIFA at the World Cup that Great Britain has a team.
"It would be impractical: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, even England, they all have their own identities, so I don't think it is a starter."
Ferguson added that age would also be a factor, although he made light of it. "I hope I'm still on this planet in 2012, first of all. I'll be 70 years of age then," he said.
Reuters