Football at the Olympics is greeted with a shrug here in Europe. Sales of tickets for this summer's Games in London demonstrate that point illustratively. 1.5 million tickets for the football went back on sale at the end of November, months after the mad dash for seats in the original ballot. With 8.8 million tickets overall for the Olympics, this represents a significant share given that it is one of only 26 sports.

Meanwhile, Brazilians snapped up football tickets more enthusiastically than the Europeans, even though the tournament is on their doorstep. But for all the apathy, as qualifiers are held and nations book their places, there is, if one looks at the teams and players travelling to London this summer, plenty to look forward to.

Even the four representatives from Europe, for whom the tournament is inconveniently juxtaposed between the European Championships and the start of the domestic season, may have added motivation to shine.

The British hosts, will be participating with English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish players – a novelty in front of a home crowd. Plus the strong possibility that the likes of David Beckham, Joe Cole and Ryan Giggs will be given the last chance of their careers to make their mark in a major international tournament will make matches even more appealing.

Players such as Wales' highly talented Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, will look to Giggs and ponder that they may never have the chance to compete at a major international competition, and so will make the most of this opportunity.

Then there's Spain, who as World and European Champions, qualified for the Olympics by winning the European under-21 championship. Their hegemony in the global game could be cemented further by winning the Olympic title. True, it's not as prestigious as winning the two major global championships, but this Spanish team is filled with talents such as Isaac Cuenca, Iker Muniain and Thiago Alcântara, who will want to prove themselves – and after all, it is the only title they have left to win.


For Belarus, having the chance to compete in the final stages of a major international championship is a unique opportunity. And although Switzerland haven't qualified for Euro 2012, they have  players like Basle's Xherdan Shaqiri (pictured above) and have shown in the Champions League what they are capable of, and will surely prove a handful.

The favourites for the title come from South America, as usual. Brazil is desperate to win the one major international football competition they are eligible for, but has so far eluded them. Santos duo Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso may feel they have a golden chance to etch their names into Brazilian history books and announce their arrival on the world stage as the stars of the new Brazil team. Lucas Piazón, Leandro Damião and Rômulo could join the Santos pair in London too.

Then there are those three players over the age of 23 who can be selected. Could Kaká be among them? Or perhaps fans may have to settle for watching Ronaldinho, seemingly resurgent at club level with Flamengo or Jádson, who has returned to Brazil with Sao Pãulo.

Brazil give more reasons than most why the London 2012 football tournaments are worth watching for more than to just see whether the presence of Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish players can change English fortunes in the dreaded, but inevitable penalty shoot out. There's the Uruguayans, for whom the under 23s will look to repeat the recent success of the senior team, and the African contingent, headed by Gabon, surprise winners of their qualifying tournament. African nations have a rich heritage in the Olympic men's football, winning two of the last four tournaments (Nigeria at Atlanta 1996 and Cameroon at Sydney 2000). Both Egypt and Morocco will come to London looking to continue that.

The Asian representatives and a team from Oceania are yet to be determined, as are the North American qualifiers. Then finally, Senegal will have a play off in Coventry against an Asian side to see if they will secure the last spot at the Games. And it is, of course, not just the men who are worth watching, as last year's women's World Cup in Germany, where Japan beat the United States in a thrilling penalty shoot out, proved.

Last week the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) women's qualifiers concluded with the US, the reigning Olympic champions, booking their spot at London 2012. With that, 11 out of the 12 qualifiers for the women's tournament are confirmed, and all that is remaining is for a representative of Oceania (i.e. New Zealand) to book their spot at the Games.


The USA cruised through qualifying in style; scoring almost eight goals a game and without conceding any in Vancouver, they maintained their record of having never lost an Olympic Games qualifier. Pia Sundhage's (pictured above) women weren't always at their best, despite the convincing scorelines, but the World Cup runners up, along with Japan, will be the teams to beat. The US may be marginal favourites to win their third crown in a row as they will surely be desperate to avenge their penalty shoot out loss in Germany last year.

Also hopeful of breaking the American dominance of previous Olympic tournaments will be Brazil, who will look to Marta as their inspiration. They will want revenge for their defeat to the USA in the final of the 2008 tournament in Beijing. Oh, and the 2004 defeat in the final to the same opponents, that time in Athens. In fact, like the men's tournament, Brazil has never won the Olympics.

North Korea's women were able to participate and qualify in controversial circumstances. Their presence will be much to the anger of the Australians whom they edged out narrowly, despite the Koreans being banned from the next World Cup after five of their players tested positive for drugs in Germany last year. South Africa and Cameroon will represent the African continent, whilst Sweden and France will also be in London. Indeed France will be hopeful that they can do well, with a number of their squad from the Olympique Lyonnais team that won the European Champions League last season. Canada is the other team definitely on their way to London, but they will do well to reach the semi-finals.

Of course, it's not the same in terms of quality as the European Championships, the Copa America or the World Cup. But the Olympics is different. Unlike the World Cup, it can be won by a nation outside of South America or Europe, as the USA, Nigeria and Cameroon have proven. Japan too, may prove that once more this summer, and in a world where football seems ever more predictable, with a group of Catalans dominating at both club and international level, that unpredictability is a novelty. It is a chance to see the stars of tomorrow, the Neymars and Alcântaras, in front of your eyes for just £20. And it is after all, football. A referee, a ball and 22 men running up and down a pitch. Or women, of course.

David Gold is a reporter for insidethegames. You can follow him on twitter here.