Britain's Prince William (2nd R) and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, stand with members of the England football squad at St. George's Park near Burton Upon Trent in England, Tuesday. The Royal couple visited the new national training facility for England's football teams, to officially open the site, which includes indoor and outdoor training pitches, a hotel, conference center, medical facilities, health club and spa. — AP LONDON — Britain will not enter a men's soccer team for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, English Football Association General Secretary Alex Horne said Tuesday. Britain returned to the Olympic Finals this summer for the first time since 1960 in Rome. It was also the first time since 1972, when it was eliminated in the qualifiers, that it had taken part in the event. The issue is politically sensitive as the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland FAs feel their participation threatens their individual status within FIFA, world soccer's governing body. Wales players were included in Stuart Pearce's squad at London 2012 but there were no Scottish or Irish players involved and Horne told Sky Sports News no British men's team would be entered for the 2016 Games. “The pinnacle is the World Championships (World Cup) and we've got the European Championships as well,” he said. “We play as England and we are proud to play as England and I know Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are proud to play as their own individual entities and we wouldn't want to do anything to risk that. FIFA accepted the position when we were hosting the Games and I think we take that and move on.” William, Kate see new FA center Prince William and his wife Catherine opened English football's new centre of excellence Tuesday — and were introduced to defender Ashley Cole despite his Twitter furor. The royal couple were among the first guests at the new £105 million ($170 million) St. George's Park complex at Burton-upon-Trent, which will be the new training base for all 24 England teams from junior to senior levels. William and Catherine met members of the senior squad, who are training at the central England facility ahead of England's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland. They were introduced to players including captain Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and there was laughter from the squad as William shook Cole's hand. Cole Friday made a foul-mouthed Twitter outburst at the Football Association, English football's governing body, following accusations he had provided “evolving” evidence supporting Chelsea teammate John Terry in his FA racism hearing. In a speech, the prince, who is a fan of English Premier League Aston Villa and also the president of the FA, praised the “wonderful facilities and beautiful surroundings”. “St. George's Park, and the concept that underpins it, is something totally new. It will be far more than just a world-class facility for training our future world-beating national team,” he said. “It is more than just the university from which thousands of highly qualified coaches will graduate. “It is also a magnificent example of the sort of social initiative that brings opportunity and purpose to wider British life.” — Agencies
