English Football Must Learn Lessons from Team GB’s Success at Rio Olympics

With every medal hung round the neck of a British athlete in Rio de Janeiro, another entry is surely scrawled into the grand catalogue of notes the FA must be taking this summer. Team GB’s astonishing Olympic success comes directly on the back of another dismal showing by England at a major tournament, so why is one team flourishing while the other is floundering? That is the case study.

Indeed, the contrast between Great Britain’s glittering success in Brazil this summer—Team GB currently sits second in the medal standings—and England’s exit to Iceland at this summer’s European Championship is stark. While one is the scourge of the nation, the other is the pride. 

So what is the difference between the two organisations? The FA is one of the best-funded footballing associations in world football, and yet their stewardship of the game in England has been the target of criticism for the past two decades, possibly even longer. What’s the problem?

That question has preoccupied football chiefs and fans alike for decades, and so maybe it’s time to ponder another enquiry. What are others doing right? If the FA and English football as a whole are looking for a precedent to follow, the British Olympic team surely provides the ideal model. 

Of course, Team GB encompasses a number of different sporting bodies, with British Cycling a very different and altogether separate organisation to British Athletics. There is not a direct correlation to be made between Team GB, the FA and the English national team, but there are still lessons to be learned from how Britain has performed in Rio this summer. 

With £350 million spent (as per the Sun) over the four-year cycle between Olympics, Team GB’s budget is significantly lower than the FA’s. Last year saw £117 million invested in the English game by the sport’s governing body, but what exactly did they get for that money? Team GB undoubtedly gets more bang for its buck.

The British Olympic programme is largely funded by the taxpayer through National Lottery contributions. There is subsequently a strong emotional association between the public watching at home and the athletes competing on the other side of the globe. It’s why …

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