Time is ticking for football at the Olympics

Football does not need the Olympics and the Olympics does not need football. For years it’s been a partnership of prestige. Now political reality is cutting in.

The bizarre prospect of a World Cup every two years is fading fast after powerful and noisy Europeanled opposition, so something else will have to give in the congested international calendar.

So why not the Olympic football tournaments? That is the thinking. After all, the Games are not a FIFAbrand event and that two week-slot every four years could be usefully jammed with something Zurich can control.

European clubs would be delighted to see