The United Kingdom (or 'Team GB', as we're supposedly meant to call them, 'Team Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands and UK Overseas Territories' apparently being too much of a mouthful) have not entered a men's team to this year's Olympics. A women's team was entered, represented in qualifying by the Lionesses, but fell agonisingly short of earning a shot at going to the finals.
The four constituent countries of the UK did not come to an agreement on the men, however. Apart from in 2012 - when London hosted the Olympics and it seemed a shame not to take part - England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have historically concerns about the precedent it might set for non-Olympic football and their continued ability to remain separate nations.
So, putting on our hypothetical hats: what would a Team GB men's team look like if they had entered (and qualified), keeping in mind that only under-23s plus three over-age players are eligible to take part in an 18-man squad with four reserves?
What would a men's Team GB football side look like at the Olympics?
Goalkeepers
We need two here, and Burnley's James Trafford is the most obvious shout after being named in Gareth Southgate's preliminary squad for the Euros before being cut from the final 26.
The only other under-23 to have received a call-up by any of the Home Nations in the past year are Northern Irish pair Pierce Charles and Stephen McMullan, who have all of three league appearances between them for Sheffield Wednesday and Fleetwood Town respectively.
Saint-Etienne's English stopper Etienne Green misses the age cut-off by less than six months, and we don't particularly want to burn an over-age pick on the goalkeeper with Trafford absolutely fine for the job - so congratulations, Brighton's Carl Rushworth, you're in after playing every game on loan at Swansea City last season.
We're allowed four additional players in reserve on top of our 18; we'll go with another Championship player, Sheffield Wednesday's James Beadle, for that.
Defenders
It's tempting to use one of the over-age players here - Andy Robertson especially - but in Lewis Hall they have a very good left-back already, with Neco Williams and Connor Bradley both excellent options too. Rico Lewis is extremely unlucky to miss out, and if you argued with us we'd probably cave, so don't write in.
We're really starting to feel the pinch of the squad size here... we think we've only got three centre-backs to play with
Right, well, Levi Colwill for one - he should have gone to the Euros in our book, but let's leave that there - and Jarell Quansah and Jarrad Branthwaite are the clear choices to round off the defence.
Midfielders
If we're not playing the over-age card in defence, then we definitely have to in midfield. We're also yet to select a Scot, and want to have all four nations represented... Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay comes in, then, and probably wears the captain's armband to boot.
Adam Wharton went to the Euros but didn't play a minute for England, so he's in too. Joining those two are Liverpool's Curtis Jones and Manchester City's James McAtee.
Harvey Elliott only just misses out, but is our reserve midfielder.
Wingers
So, so, so many options here, even if we don't use an over-age player. But we're going to anyway: Jack Grealish gets a consolation prize after being left out of the Euros squad. (Sorry, Raheem Sterling).
Brennan Johnson joins Williams in offering Welsh representation, but there's nothing tokenistic about either selection. Chelsea's Noni Madueke gets our third and final wing slot.
We're struggling for centre-forwards, in all honesty, so we'll use the final reserve spot here to give Morgan Rogers a chance of coming in if someone got injured.
Centre-forwards
Surprisingly slim pickings. Are there no good young European centre-forwards who are eligible to play at the Olympics?
And so we turn to Anthony Gordon, who is of course usually a winger but did play centre-forward for England under-21s when they had the same issue. He played just a handful of minutes at the Euros, too, so we feel fine about taking him straight to the Olympics. Or swap his name with Johnson's, if you prefer.
Jay Stansfield is a player on the up after a standout season in the Championship even for a dreadful Birmingham City side.
Which gives us one more slot to fill, and wouldn't you know it, we still have an over-age player to choose from. Marcus Rashford gets the nod as a result.
FFT's hypothetical Team GB squad for the 2024 Olympics
Overage players in bold.
- Goalkeepers: James Trafford (Burnley, England), Carl Rushworth (Brighton, England)
- Full-backs: Conor Bradley (Liverpool, Northern Ireland) Lewis Hall (Newcastle, England), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest, Wales)
- Centre-backs: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton, England), Levi Colwill (Chelsea, England), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool, England)
- Midfielders: Curtis Jones (Liverpool, England), James McAtee (Manchester City, England), Scott McTominay (Manchester United, Scotland), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace, England)
- Wingers: Jack Grealish (Manchester City, England), Brennan Johnson (Tottenham, Wales), Noni Madueke (Chelsea, England)
- Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle, England), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United, England),
- Reserves: James Beadle (Sheffield Wednesday, England), Rico Lewis (Manchester City, England), Harvey Elliott (Liverpool, England), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa, England)
The manager
Who's British, available for work, might be tempted by the novelty rather than seeing it as an unwanted distraction, and has proven himself in knockout competitions recently?
David Moyes was the first name to spring to mind who ticks all those boxes, and we couldn't come up with anybody better than that thereafter.
Just for the banter, though, we'll have Sam Allardyce take charge of the first game and then replace him with Moyes.
More Olympics stories
Team GB at London 2012: The chaotic story of the short-lived men's Olympic team
Manchester United eyeing surprise move for AC Milan star for whom tension in Italy is growing: report
'I had to cut 9kg in four weeks – that’s tough, particularly while trying to learn the skills and train twice a day' Former Premier League title winner Danny Simpson on accepting a celebrity boxing fight having never taken a punch in his life
