Why are we Still Pretending to Care about Soccer at the Olympics?
By Rebecca Dobbin Donaghy
Soccer does not need the Olympics, and the Olympics doesn’t need soccer, why then do other sports suffer in its place?
Despite being on the right side of a 6-0 hammering when they met Scotland in their final Nations League group game last week, the English Lionesses failed to qualify for the Nations League finals, which consequently means that Team GB will not appear in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
A team GB team which would be largely made up of the same team who are ranked 4th in the world, made it to a World Cup final in 2023, and were Euro champions in 2022, will undoubtedly be a miss for spectators in Paris. But in terms of the sport itself, is it of any real loss?
There is little need to explain the significance of the Olympic Games as a sporting event, giving a platform to the world’s best athletes across a multitude of sports and events as they come together to compete on behalf of their country. By its very nature, the games are able to showcase sports which otherwise lie somewhat in the realms of sporting obscurity. For a few weeks every four years the world's attention goes to the Olympic Games, and everyone suddenly becomes an expert in sports that they probably haven't watched or even thought about since the last games.
For many, the games are almost inextricably linked to the sports which demonstrate the pinnacle of human ability. When we think about athletics our mind immediately goes to Usain Bolt at the Olympics; when we think about swimming, it’s Michael Phelps at the Olympics; when we think about gymnastics, it’s Simone Biles at the Olympics. But when we think of soccer, nobody is thinking about the Olympics. In fact, I find it difficult to name a standout moment from the sport at the games, despite the fact that it has appeared since the 1900 games for men, and 1996 for women.
The International Olympic Committee have dropped karate and softball entirely from the programme since 2020, whilst also dropping four of the weightlifting events, and have provisionally dropped it entirely from the list of “core” events, alongside boxing and the modern pentathlon, as well as events in other sports such as canoeing. These sports rarely are on the global stage outside of the Olympic Games, whilst soccer remains on a pedestal all year round.
As the Olympic games are a non-FIFA affiliated competition, clubs have no obligation to allow players to attend. Coupled with this, since 1992, the men’s competition is exclusively for players under the age of 23, making it more of a development opportunity for players, as opposed to the epic clash of titans other Olympic sports are. This combination of these rules has meant that the stars of the sport are unlikely to actually compete at the games. It has also led to the honour roll being completely unreflective of the men's game, with Hungary being the most successful nation, and Brazil having never won the competition.
Yes, it is always an honour and a privilege to compete at the Olympics, but soccer has enough "world-stage" events in their own right, so why then does it remain an Olympic event while other sports fall by the wayside.
Rebecca Dobbin Donaghy is the Deputy Station Manager at Queens Radio. She is currently studying a MA in Broadcast and Media Production