OLYMPIC MEMBERSHIP?

Our country participates in the world of international sport in the FIFA World Cup, the European Football Championship, the Rugby World Cup, the Commonwealth Games. However, when it comes to the Olympic Games, our athletes compete have no choice but to participate as part of a Great Britain team. Yet over the last couple of weeks we have seen athletes from across the globe competing in the Olympics competing for states, nations, territories and unrecognised peoples and nations. 

Amongst the multitude have been athletes from Guam (population 159,358 in 2010) and São Tomé and Príncipe (Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe) with a population of 163,784 (in 2010), incidentally Swansea has a population of 232,500 (ONS) and Nauru (population 9,378 (in 2011) and Palau with a population 21,000 (Penarth has a population 20,396 in 2011 census) and Greneda (population 110,000) have been competing.

Now Olympic membership is not about population or political independence as non independent parts of other countries (notably Hong Kong) are able to compete - so why not Wales? Perhaps we need an Olympic Committee to actively press the case?

This would be start, aside from having to deal with hostility from the Westminster Government, a combination of inertia and indifference from the Labour in Wales in Cardiff, and also there would be the issue of self interest from the athletic associations who would no doubt object (perhaps motivated by the prospect of various gongs, trinkets and baubles and other inducements disappearing).

Aside from better sports funding there should be extra funding for education (in England) as an improvement in the educational system in England is necessary as some people (particularly commentators and media pundits) seem to be unable to tell the difference between Team GB (football) and England. Not to mention being unable to tell the difference between a national anthem and the anthem of a state.

At present Olympic Committees (admittedly as yet unrecognised) exist for Catalonia, Gibraltar, French Polynesia, Niue, Kosovo, Somaliland, New Caledonia, Kurdistan, Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia, the Native Americans, the Northern Mariana Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands. If they can do it so can we, so why not Cymru / Wales?