No need for football in the Commonwealth Games

Why add sports and break from tradition when there is no need?

At long last, the Commonwealth Games are off and running and they’re being hosted in a city famed for boasting two of the most famous football teams in the world.

I was back in my hometown during the week to soak up some of the atmosphere. And I have to admit it was strange to see Glasgow hold a sporting event that doesn’t centre around either Celtic, Rangers or the Scottish national team.

Over the years Celtic Park venue for the opening ceremony Hampden Park which has been transformed into an athletics arena and Ibrox Stadium which is staging the Rugby Sevens have hosted some hugely famous and memorable football matches, with over 100,000 crammed into the stadiums back in the day.

As I wandered around the city, on several occasions the subject of conversation was whether football should become part of the Commonwealth Games. Let me declare here and now I’m dead against that ever happening. There is no need whatsoever for it.

The Commonwealth Games is all about track & field, and the traditional sports that have long been a part of the competition.

Why is there a need for football in the Commonwealth Games or at the Olympics Games, for that matter? There was a football tournament during London 2012, but everyone now remembers that event for Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and so on. Not football.

We have the World Cup and the European Championships. That is more than enough for football, as far as I’m concerned. We all see enough football throughout the year that it is nice to have a sporting event that doesn’t include it.

I’m not entirely happy about the rugby at the Commonwealth Games, either. Rugby already has its own World Cup and various other high-profile competitions. Why add sports and break from tradition when there is no need?

And, let’s be honest, would there be any appetite from our major football clubs and players for such an event?

Say Scotland are taking part in the Commonwealth Games. What sort of pool of players could Gordon Strachan select? Celtic are in the middle of Champions League qualifiers, and all the big clubs are preparing for the start of the season. If he named a 24-man squad, he’d be lucky to get half of them to turn up. It would be a shambles.

And that goes for just about every other country taking part. So I’m dead against football ever becoming an event at any of the Games.

What I would like to stress, though, is how vibrant Glasgow was during my short stay. The atmosphere was excellent. I’m sure the Commonwealth Games will prove to be a massive success.

There certainly seems to be a huge level of interest from the people, not only in Glasgow but all over Scotland.

It’s fantastic for Glasgow to be hosting such a major event, and I was hugely impressed with the set-up.