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The Beijing Olympics are now a month away including the Under 23's Olympic football tournament to be held at different venues in China. While many people may think otherwise, it is actually a tournament with a lot of history and with a lot of purpose. Firstly, what many people don't know is that the Olympic tournament was the first international football tournament, the World Cup was created afterwards and was largely the result of the success of this Olympic tournament. Secondly, the Olympic tournament provides teams (and fans alike) with a good indication as to how teams are shaping up for the next 2 World Cups.
The emergence of the World Cup in 1930 logically led to the decline of the Olympic tournament, not just in popularity but in prestige. FIFA's decision to limit the tournament to amateurs contributed to this decline, but at the same time, it had no choice since the prestige of its own World Cup had to be kept. Presently, only players below the age of 23 can take part and this was done in order to reflect other FIFA youth tournaments such as the under 20's and under 17's. Notwithstanding, FIFA permits teams to have 3 overage players if they choose to. Many are of the opinion, including he who write this, that this is completely unrequired and does not comply with the objectives of such a tournament. Now, before everyone starts writing their responses to this article, let?s analyse the reasons behind the creation of this rule as well as what it (supposedly) contributes and what it has (supposedly) contributed. The rule was put into place at the same time as the under 23 rule in order to give all teams the chance to compete equally, as opposed to the previous rule where only amateurs could participate, and hence the true strength of the international game was not represented. However, this doesn?t address the merits of having overage players at the Olympics. What are the merits of letting teams have them? The financial windfall of allowing overage players to participate is significant. There no doubt that FIFA would want football to grab headlines in an event such as the Olympic Games and the presence of world-renowned players such as Riquelme and Ronaldinho assures that. Coaches and players are also favourable when it comes to the overage player rule, as the presence of older more experienced players in a team can only assist the younger players and help the team to perform better. Notwithstanding, money does talk at FIFA and the decision to include overage players is an indication that the origins and purpose of youth tournaments have been lost. While the tournament may be for players under the age of 23, it is still a youth tournament especially when it is compared to the World Cup Finals. The fundamental feature of any youth tournament is the idea that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity, meaning that if you don't grab it the first time, you'll never again have the chance to try again. Both the Under 17 and 20 world championships are just like that and all players know they've got one chances to participate in such a tournament. On the other hand, when it comes to the Olympics, players will take the attitude that they will always have the opportunity to play in the tournament regardless of age. This attitude is not one to be encouraged in football. The Olympic tournament is and cannot be treated with such disdain and therefore the overage rule must be condemned to history. |
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