Gareth Bale is Superman.

Such is the inescapable conclusion from the footballer's two blistering displays against European champions Internazionale of Milan in recent weeks and the media hype that has accompanied them.

But Bale is also Welsh.

This means that, like Ryan Giggs and Northern Ireland's George Best before him, Bale is likely to miss out on the final stages of most big international football tournaments during his career - events like the World Cup and European Championships.

And the Olympic Games.

Or is he?

My hope is that the 21-year-old's spectacular emergence since the start of the season can force the hand of those who are threatening to spoil a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and ensure that we have a proper British football team at London 2012.

I know that I have a bee in my bonnet about this.

But it truly would be one of the out-and-out highlights of these 2012 Games if a genuinely British men's football squad could take part on a one-off basis.

The obvious point of comparison - though it is far from guaranteed that their on-field performance would merit the accolade - is with the so-called US "Dream Team" which strolled to gold in the 1992 Olympic men's basketball competition in Barcelona.

At the moment - though I am far from the only one reluctant to give up on the idea - we look like being deprived of this spectacle.

The most likely scenario would see Britain represented by an all-English team - a recipe, I fear, for a low-octane tournament and more dreary goalless draws against Algeria.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) told me this week it was looking to have matters such as selection criteria resolved by early next year.

Asked in September whether he was confident there would be non-English players in the Olympic football squads, Andy Hunt, the BOA's chief executive, told me: "I would hope for all of our home nations to be represented and given the opportunity to be potentially selected, but selection will always be on merit won't it?"

On current form, Bale is probably the only non-Englishman who would indisputably grace a Great Britain First Eleven.

Scotland and Manchester United's Darren Fletcher (and even Scotland and Tottenham's Alan Hutton) might also be in the frame.

But Bale is the only certainty.

I would like him now to step back into his Superman call-box, speak out and say that, if selected, of course he would be delighted to play for a Great Britain team in the 2012 Olympics.

That might seem like a big ask for a young man of impeccable manners still in the early stages of his international football career.

But how could Welsh football administrators react?

Surely they would not drop the young winger who, pending a full recovery by Aaron Ramsey, is their only remotely world-class player and prime marketing asset?

And if they did?

Well, Wikipedia tells me that Bale was eligible, through his grandmother, to play for England.

I'm no tactical genius, but I'd say that he and Ashley Cole would make a more than presentable left-sided combination.

And would the presence of a genuinely British Great Britain team at the London Olympics really jeopardise the international futures of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as has been claimed?

I don't seriously think so, provided the team was a one-off to augment the sense of occasion for the 2012 Games.

And if it did start rumblings within FIFA, well the British countries would be able to draw on some powerful allies.

I don't suppose, for example, that UEFA boss Michel Platini, would be all that enthusiastic about Europe's voting strength in world football being potentially diluted by three.

OK, the Olympic football competition, which has an age limit of 23 with three over-age players permitted, is not on the level of a World Cup, or even, most would say, a European Championship.

But, I repeat, this might well be the only opportunity Bale gets to win some respectable silverware while representing his country.

He might even end up playing for the club manager under whom he has blossomed - the irrepressible Harry Redknapp.

Let's, please, not deprive him - and ourselves - of this unique opportunity.

David Owen is a specialist sports journalist who worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed at www.twitter.com/dodo938