IOC back British team

The BOA had planned to enter teams for the London Olympics supported by the Football Association and the Northern Irish FA, but the Scottish and Welsh FA were opposed.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has always maintained a British Olympic team would not threaten the independent status of any of the associations but the two governing bodies were unmoved.

Last year the BOA insisted they would go ahead regardless and now chief executive Simon Clegg has revealed the IOC's support.

Clegg told the BBC's Inside Sport programme: "Ever since London won the Games, we've been very clear. It would be absolutely inconceivable for us to host the world's greatest sporting event in this country that includes as an integral part of that competition, football, our national sport, and for us not to field a team.

"And we will field a team and the comfort that we've got, the commitments that we've got from the IOC reinforce that aspiration.

"This will be a national celebration and I would be greatly saddened if some of our most talented players north or south of the border or west of the dyke would be deprived of the opportunity to compete as part of a Great Britain team because of sports politics or because of sports administrators unable to act in the best interests of their athletes.

"And I think the man in the street would find it absolutely unbelievable if we were staging this event and there were Olympic football events taking place up and down the country as there will be and we didn't have a GB team participating in it."

Chief executive Gordon Smith has, however, reiterated the SFA's opposition.

When asked if the SFA would try to block players from Scotland who wanted to make themselves available he stated: "I would hope that players registered with the SFA would accept our policy on the matter".