Olympic Football: Is it worth bothering?

The London Olympics get under way next week, and for some sportsmen and women competing at the games is the ultimate pinnacle of their sport. However, the same can hardly be said about the football tournament. With a breathtaking European Championships just gone, and a new football season on the horizon , surely the Olympics football tournament is more of a distraction than anything else.

Ask any of the Chelsea squad if they will swap their Champions League triumph for Olympic Gold medals and you won’t find many takers. The tournament itself is a glorified Under 23 competition with a sprinkling of golden oldies. Tickets are still on sale for most of the games as it would appear the appetite is not there.

Surely the Olympics should be a celebration of the sports which normally are confined to the late-night backwaters of Channel 5 or Eurosport and get little to no media coverage. Football is the most played sport in the world, however with the World Cup and Continental championships already celebrating the best of the best internationally speaking, why bother with the Olympics?