• London Olympics 2012

Great Britain will have a football team - Coe

Lord Sebastian Coe is adamant Great Britain will have a football team at London 2012, and is confident Premier League managers will not prevent their players from competing.

Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), sympathises with the problems that have hampered any agreement being made for the likes of Gareth Bale and David Beckham to play for Team GB at next year's Olympics.

And with England missing out on the right to host the 2018 World Cup, Coe claims the Olympics will be the only chance British fans may get to see international football in the United Kingdom.

"Football is a sport I know and I understand and the loyalties in football are very important and the loyalties across the four Home Nations are strong and profound, and rightly so." Coe told ESPN.

"I have tended to keep out of those discussions because it is not for the organising committee to determine the shape or construct of those teams - it really is a matter for the National Olympic Committee - and the home associations.

"What I do know is that we will have a Great Britain team at the Games and that is important because we are a football-loving nation, and as a football fan I am quite aware this is probably the only international football competition in my own country for some time."

The Premier League season kicks off the week after the conclusion of the men's football competition at Wembley, and Coe is confident managers will not prevent their young charges from competing in what he argues is a career-defining competition.

"I know the managers you are talking about," Coe said. "Many of them are actually overseas managers as well that recognise the importance and the value because they have used the Olympic tournament to bring young talent through to international level.

"I know we will have full support from the Premier League, which we have had throughout the bidding process and now the delivery. I am very confident that the clubs also recognise that for many of their players this is a very important moment in their careers."

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