Does football have a place at the Olympic games?

One of the things that I, as a viewer, love most about the Olympics is the opportunity to watch sports that a majority of people would watch only once in four years. I fall into that category too, for, as a passionate follower of ‘mainstream sports’ like cricket, football and tennis, the Olympics gives me an opportunity to watch sports I would never get the chance to watch otherwise and even develop a fascination towards the likes of archery, swimming and rowing. This is, in fact, the very principle on which the Olympics were built, the chance to allow athletes in ‘amateur’ sports to shine, to give them something to aspire and become. The Olympics represents the pinnacle of their sporting careers, something which they devote all of their sporting life to.

However, there are quite a few ‘mainstream’ sports which are increasingly becoming a part of the Olympic Games. One of them is perhaps the most popular sport on the planet, one that has been present as an event in all but two editions of the Olympics held thus far. I am talking, of course, of football. There has, however, been a question mark in recent times over whether football should part of the Olympic games and doubts cast over its future as an Olympic sport. Let’s have a look at some of the reasons why football should or shouldn’t be an Olympic sport.

Why it shouldn’t be an Olympic sport:

1) Not the pinnacle of a footballer’s career: As mentioned before, the Olympics are the pinnacle of an athlete’s career, a medal at the Olympic games makes all the dedication and hard work over the years worth it. It would, however, be rare to find a footballer who rates an Olympic medal as one of the major achievements of his career. Football players have so much more to look forward to, starting with club football where domestic and continental titles are up for grabs. Even when it comes to international football, there are continental competitions and of course, the holy grail, the FIFA World Cup. When fans and pundits rate the success and achievements of players, very rarely does an Olympic medal come into contention. A perfect example of this is Lionel Messi. Widely considered to be the best footballer on the planet, his one major ‘weakness’ as pointed out by fans is that he does not perform on the international stage and has not helped Argentina win anything. Most will not even remember that Lionel Messi was one of the main architects of Argentina’s Olympic gold medal-winning performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics! This just goes to prove that despite the organizers best efforts to hype it up, Olympics football will just remain a distraction and almost a ‘side event’ to other Olympic sports.

2) Club vs Country debate(again): The club vs country battle has again, inevitably, reared its ugly head, and this time the clubs plead a stronger case. While the tournament is essentially an U-23 tournament, a lot of clubs are losing out their younger players during the crucial pre-season period with the new club season just around the corner. In addition to the obvious worry of players picking up injuries, there is also the danger of fatigue as well as denying the players the chance to get together with their club-mates just before the season. Some players too, have opted to stay with their clubs rather than represent their countries. Last year’s stars for FC Basel, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaquiri have both preferred to stay with their new clubs Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayern Munich in an attempt to acclimatize to the new conditions while perhaps more famously, there is a huge controversy over whether Gareth Bale is, as he says, ‘injured’, or would rather take part in Tottenham’s lucrative American tour than play for Team GB at the Olympics.

3) Top players not taking part: Another major bone of contention among the critics is that the top players do not take part in the Olympics, leading to lack of interest among spectators both at the stadium as well as on television across the world. With only three players above the age of 23 allowed to take part, teams are often devoid of star power which would attract viewers from across the world. Viewers are unaware of most players taking part from the ‘lesser’ footballing nations and thus cannot relate to them. A lot of European nations do not even take the Olympics too seriously, opting to award the places to players, who would otherwise not get the opportunity to represent their countries in international football, giving them a chance to showcase their skills on the biggest stage, which again, rather unfortunately leads to a decline in ‘star power’ in the tournament.

Why it should be a part of the Olympics:

It is not all doom and gloom for football at the Olympics. Here are a couple of reasons why Olympics football is good and should be here to stay:

4) Players have a chance to make their mark: While an Olympics win may not rank as one of the major achievements of a footballer’s career, it sure does provide opportunities to players who would not have the chance to do so otherwise. Ryan Giggs, perhaps the greatest footballer of his generation to have not played an international tournament due to Wales failing to qualify for any tournament of prominence, has finally got the opportunity to grace the international arena as he seeks to captain Team GB to the gold medal.

The Olympics has served as a platform for younger players to gain some experience and confidence, as players like Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Angel Di Maria have all used the opportunity provided to them, leading Argentina to consecutive gold medals. Very few will forget the Cameroon team of 2000, as a young Samuel Eto’o & Co. defeated established footballing superpowers like Brazil and Spain on the way to an emotional and historic gold medal for the Indomitable Lions.

5) Global event, global sport: The Olympics are arguably the world’s most popular sporting event. Happening only once in four years, they attract competitors from all over the world, with 205 countries taking part in this edition of the Olympics. With such a worldwide presence, it does seem only fair that the world’s most popular sport, football, does get a chance to be represented. The global nature of football will ensure participation from all continents, from various regions of the world as the global nature of the Olympic games will be well and truly honoured.