A Conservative spokesman has urged Lord Coe to advocate rebranding Team GB to Team UK, as the peer seeks election to become President of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Neil Wilson, the party’s spokesman for culture, arts and sport, in Northern Ireland, said that his Tory colleague could “bring considerable influence to bear, in order to make Northern Irish people feel properly included in the UK athletics and Olympic teams”.
“We’re incredibly proud of the achievements of British athletes and Olympians, in Northern Ireland, but the branding of the teams doesn’t reflect accurately that it represents everyone in the UK”, Neil commented. “The Team GB brand does cause some concern, because Great Britain doesn’t include Northern Ireland, or some of the other islands and territories encompassed by the United Kingdom. We’ve argued that, going forward, the Olympic team and the athletics teams should consider using Team UK instead”.
“This isn’t a life or death issue, but it would certainly be a respectful gesture toward the many great Northern Irish sportspeople who have competed under the Team GB banner, as well as the Northern Irish people who volunteered during the London Olympics. I’ll be contacting Lord Coe and Helen Grant, the minister for sport, to suggest that they give backing a name change serious consideration, in order to make the team branding more accurate and inclusive.”