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Saw something on TV earlier that was a bit of a warm up to Euro 2012.

I barely gave it a second thought except......... I'd usually get a tinge of excitement but alas this year, there was nothing. I believe I will genuinely have a general feeling of 'meh' throughout the tournament.

Olympic football might be worth watching though. A load of youngsters hungry to prove themselves should, hopefully, make for some good matches. It'll also be interesting to see how psycho does as a manager.

Anyone?

We are going to watch two games at Coventry, no idea who will be playing yet though

Shouldn't be part of the olympics. Not the pinnacle of the sport.

I've got tickets to the Bronze medal match at the Millennium.  Couldn't really give a toss but a mate got them.

Could be a good tournament, the Olympics have helped launch a few players onto the World stage in recent years.  Step forward Lionel Messi.

Our old boy (well child really) Alex Henshall is in line for a call up I read somewhere.  I would like to see him play one day.

He's got an invite, but I think every player in the country under 23 got one. Be suprised if he actually got called up

Beckham, Giggs and Steven Fletcher are reportedly going to be the over-23s.  :nonono:

Me too.  One of the games is before the opening ceremony!  To watch a sport that shouldn't be in the olympics.  In Coventry.  I'm living the olympic dream, me.

When are you going?

We're there on the 27th July

Not sure, the keeper of the social calendar is not staying up for the Superbowl!  But 27th sounds about right.  I'll let you know.

Cool, if you are there the same day will sort out meeting for a beer

Absolutely, sounds good.

Football has been part of the the modern games since pretty much the start. I suppose it's a relic on the old amateur days.

I'm scheduled to going to a double header at St James' Park. I only applied because it's a bit of pre-season football.

Going up to old Trafford for one of the semi finals. The lad wanted to see Old Trafford and this way I don't have to watch Man U

This draw is loco.

Pardon?

To those who could have tickets to see Team GB.

Uruguay, UAE and Senegal are the opponents.

Down in Acapulco.

When are the venues drawn, just so I can work out the permutations of who I may see at the OT semi.

Group A is already arranged what with GB's participation but I don't know what happens next RE: the other groups.

Going to the third placed game at the Millennium, opportunity to see a few players who will probably never step foot in the UK again so can't turn your nose up totally.

Not at all.

I've got a double-header in Newcastle so I will do a 'visiting friends' weekend and take in two games.

The annoying thing is that my tickets are scheduled to go to my old house in Newcastle and the Olympic ticket rules state that I can no longer amend it with them but have to call Royal Mail instead...  :doh:

Already lined up my Senegal, Uruguay and UAE shirts.

In all seriousness. I wont be watching. And I cant imagine many people turning up on a wednesday afternoon (14:30 KO) to watch Belarus v New Zealand at anywhere between £20 and £40 a ticket!

(if wikipedia is correct on this one)

I think I've got Spain with my ticket which is good. Other teams are Japan, Honduras and Morocco.

Just a though, did Caddis get an invitation for this? Scotland U21 captain, you'd expect him to get some consideration for diplomacy more than anything else. Presuming he's still eligible anyway, might have turned 24 recently but not sure how the age rules work.

I doubt they'll be anyone below The Championship. Listening to Pearce and Powell, they are going for the 'best' possible squads.

So I will assume that it won't be equal nationality wise and it will probably annoy a lot of people.

I thought the SFA had refused permission for any Scots players to play in the Team GB football?

I'm sure Beckham will find a way in.

I really don't understand when people use this argument. It's not the pinnacle of Basketball, Boxing or Tennis either and then if you consider Mixed Martial Arts and the UFC it's not really the pinacle of using Judo, Wrestling and Taekwando either.

Using the attitude sports should only be in if it's the pinacle of that sport we would be left with track and field, gymnastics, swimming, etc. Meaning i'd be even less interested in the olympics than I am now.

I guess football at the Olympics is a relic of the amateur days but it's been in place for over a hundred years so I don't think it's out of place.

i couldnt think of anything more dire than going to watch one of these games,
the GB team will be made up of ego's, may i point out that this is my own opinion & other people have the right to enjoy it, terms & conditions apply

Couldn't give a fuck about it - won't watch it - pointless.

Exactly right, 'higher faster stronger'. Not 'more elegant' or 'smallest splash in my opinion'. And I thought it was only amateur boxers allowed? In which case I think it probably is the pinnacle of the amateur boxing world.

Unfortunately, they have said they cant stop them. Although I believe FIFA statutes do suggest they could block it.

Only 7 of the 184 pool of footballers approached turned down the idea of playing.

... Footballers are not politicians, the majority want to play in these sort of events when approached.

You are missing out the fact that the FA assumed that anyone that didnt reply WAS interested in playing.
7 people were definitely not interested. 177 either were interested or didnt reply.

I got tickets for men's quarter final......really just to let the kids witness some history as like every other fucker I missed out on tickets for everything else. Team GB would be a bonus.

I just don't think people feel as strongly about one summer competition as others. That's all it is.

The mens tournament is really an under 23 competition, with a few ringers in it. No-one complains about the U-17's,U-19's and U-21's tournaments.

I've got a ticket for the first day at the Millennium, which I'm looking forward too.

Have you ever spent £20 - £40 quid for an u21 international?

I've paid £20 for two matches...so not bad. Still cheaper than going to Wembley.

Im sick of Wembley! soapy tit wank

Yay, I've got tickets for Korea v Gabon.

Living the Olympic dream.

OMG. Give. Me. That.

Trig asks yet another question.

How does one get these tickets? The site says it's not sold until May..  :hmmm:

Can someone change his name to Trigger and put a picture of Trigger there too. Ta.

Well there you go.
I like my name though.

You wait until early May when remaining tickets go on sale.

OH.

:D Please change your name to trigger!

Just got tickets for Korea vs Gabon. YAY! :D

If anyone wasn't aware, Trig is Korean.

I'm happy with the Spain squad so it just about justifies the trip to Newcastle.

Needless to say that it'll be a great, great day for my database.

Hey stattoanza, is there any way I can work out the possible teams playing at Old Trafford on 7th August?

Not really at this moment as it's a Semi-Final.

I suppose the "best" case scenario is Team GB vs. Brazil (based on winning their groups and winning their Quarter-Final ties)

Is that on a Wednesday night at Wembley?  If so, I remember looking at that on the schedule thinking if you brought tickets in advace for it you would be gutted, and no one would want to buy tickets after the fixture was confirmed .... But clearly one did!!

I am gutted India didnt qualify!  Oh well .... Brazil 2014 hopefully!

Ta, that'll do me until it can't happen :)

Yup 1st August at 5pm.

500,000 Olympic football tickets taken off sale, reduced capacity at venues outside of London.  Top tier for all games at the Millenium closed.

What a total non surprise!  I imagine the games attendance will still be around 98% somehow! A little surprised that not even the Team GB game at the millenuim has sold enough tickets to open the top tier!

I've been offered free tickets for the woman's football at Cardiff on 25th and 31st July. I think they are having trouble shifting them.

Sounds about right.  I'm still wondering how many will be at this South Koea v Gabon game Trig is going too .... I reckon he'll have his own block!

I assume you mean unsold tickets? I'll be a little bit furious if they've shut the section I sit in!

Anyone got a link, where we get tickets to the olympics? I wouldn't seeing some of the events.

I have the cheapest cheap seats, which I imagine means top teir in the corner... will I have been moved, or be expecting a refund?

You'll have been moved if you were in the top tier.  Good god, they cant give these tickets away so they aint going to refund those who have brought a ticket!

My Daughter who plays football has been rewarded from her school with four tickets to the British women's game v Brazil at Wembley. Unfortunately we will be on holiday so the school are arranging instead tickets for her to go to the cinema to watch the new Twilight movie when it is released  which she is much more excited about.

Bit of a joke that we claim to be the home of football, yet we're going to have half empty stadiums and can't even give tickets away for the Olympic football tournament. Any moron could have seen this coming and it could have been avoided by using smaller stadiums and pricing the tickets more reasonably.

Isn't going to help our chances of hosting a World Cup.

Were the stadiums not half empty when we hosted Euro 96? I just seem to remember a game at Newcastle infront of one man and his dog, though cant remember if that was a one off or a trend outside of England games!

Incidentally, what are the ticket prices?

If the BOC are trying to recoup their costs and are hiking their prices up then that would explain it, if however that its just there isn't the apetite for the games then thats a different matter.

We're holding an under-23 tournament, where no British person is playing for their recognised footballing country, at the same time as dozens of other sporting events are happening in our country on a once-in-a-lifetime basis, and whilst everybody's local/favourite football teams are getting back into action ahead of the new season. Oh, and the Euros only just finished.

This has nothing at all to do with our ability/suitability to host a World Cup.

£20 for the cheapest tickets, a lot more for the prawn sandwich ones.

Whilst the games weren't all sold out, Euro 96 set new attendance records for the championship at the time.

We all know what it takes to get selected to host a WC and ability/suitability doesn't enter into it.  Should FIFA ever rid themselves of wholesale corruption, then they just might wish to establish a clean competition and send it our way. Don't expect to see it in my lifetime mind.

Exactly, in terms of the Olympics the football tournament is pretty insignificant anyway.

How many of the greatest Olympics moments are from the footy?

Fact is I can't recall a single Olympic football winner. This is because a) GB have not had a team in it for years, b) nobody really cares if we win Olympic football (or tennis) - its not a proper Olympic sport.

I'd add Golf to that list as well, whenever it comes in.

Basketball should also be in that group but that is normally quite high-profile within the games as a whole.

For a lot of other countries the Olympic football tournament is a major tournament, just behind the World Cup and continental championships. Again, it wouldn't do us any harm to take it more seriously. I know you've got the GB issue but we could easily just have a play off between the home countries and let one represent the GB.