The 2024 Olympic Games means another Football tournament is getting underway. Olympic Football has some subtle differences to other international tournaments, the main one being that FIFA only allows players aged 23 or under to participate in the men’s competition, apart from three exceptions.

This is in contrast to the women’s equivalent, which treats the Olympic Games as a top-level tournament.

There is no Great Britain team in either tournament this year, with England failing to qualify via the Women’s Nations League, while the men have not entered a team since 2012, which was their first GB Football team at the Olympics since 1960.

The very idea of a GB squad in 2012 was met with much derision, even to the point that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had initially insisted that they would not participate in a unified team.

In the end, only Welsh players were selected alongside English players in the 18-player squad, which was managed by Stuart Pearce.

After topping a group consisting of Senegal, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, Team GB were knocked out in the quarter-finals by South Korea, who won 5-4 on penalties at the Millennium Stadium.

But who were those players involved, and where are they now? Here’s a reminder of that men’s squad and how their careers have panned out since.

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Jack Butland

Birmingham City

Jack Butland, now 31, has had a relatively successful career since his brief time as Team GB’s No 1. He eventually made his name as an established Premier League goalkeeper for Stoke City, alongside a variety of loan spells.

Last year, he left Crystal Palace to join Scottish giants Rangers, where he won the Scottish League Cup and was named as their Player of the Year.

Internationally, Butland has earned nine caps for England, with both of his competitive appearances to date coming in qualifiers away to Lithuania – keeping a clean sheet on both occasions. At the Olympics, he played all four games for Team GB.

Jason Steele

Middlesbrough

Now at Brighton & Hove Albion, Jason Steele’s path to the top saw him become No 1 at Middlesbrough before spells at Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland. In 2018, he moved to Brighton, where he had become the first-choice goalkeeper prior to the departure of manager Roberto De Zerbi.

As backup to Jack Butland at London 2012, Steele watched on from the sidelines during the Olympics, though he did make a pre-tournament friendly appearance for Team GB in a defeat to a star-studded Brazil side.

Ryan Bertrand

Chelsea

Fresh from winning the Champions League on his European debut, Ryan Bertrand was drafted into Team GB, for whom he appeared three times at the Games.

Bertrand got his England debut soon after, appearing as a substitute in a friendly win over Italy in August 2012, and while his time at Chelsea failed to burst into life, the full-back became a dependable player in the top flight, namely for Southampton.

He suffered plenty of injury issues following his switch to Leicester City, and after a year without a Club, the 34-year-old recently decided to call time on his career.

Steven Caulker

Tottenham Hotspur

A first-choice defender for Stuart Pearce at London 2012, Steven Caulker was the youngest outfield player in the squad at 20.

A Spurs player at the time, Caulker had just completed a fine season on loan at Premier League new boys Swansea City, who had comfortably stayed up in 11th place.

He has become something of a journeyman since then, with spells at the Swans’ rivals, Cardiff, as well as Liverpool and QPR. Caulker also spent three years at various clubs in Turkey, while he spent last season at lower-league Spanish Club Malaga City.

Craig Dawson

West Bromwich Albion

Still knocking around in the Premier League at 34, Craig Dawson is now a stalwart at the back for Wolves, having made his name at West Brom before spells at Watford and West Ham, where he won the Conference League in 2023.

Dawson made just two appearances at the Olympics: a late substitute appearance in the final group game against Uruguay and an hour in the quarter-final defeat to South Korea, with the centre-back scoring in the shootout.

Micah Richards

Manchester City

Now a common staple of TV punditry, Micah Richards entered the Team GB squad as a newly crowned Premier League champion.

At 24, Richards was one of the three overage players selected by Stuart Pearce, who had given the defender his Manchester City debut. Richards played every minute of the group stage before being substituted in the quarter-final.

He went on to reach 13 England caps, scoring once, but only made two appearances following the arrival of Fabio Capello. Nowadays, he can be seen just about anywhere in the Football media sphere, be it for the BBC, CBS Sports or on a Football podcast, probably laughing his head off.

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Danny Rose

Tottenham Hotspur

Another former player who has crossed into punditry, Danny Rose played for Spurs across 14 years, where his finest moment arguably came on his debut when scoring in a north London derby at White Hart Lane.

That said, he had a relatively successful international career, earning 29 caps for England, with eight of those coming in major tournaments.

Rose started the first game at the London Olympics but only made two further sub appearances, including during extra-time of the quarter-final.

Neil Taylor

Swansea City

One of five Welshmen in the team, Swansea’s Neil Taylor was also one of three players based in south Wales at the time.

Taylor became a Premier League regular during the Welsh Club’s stay in the top flight, before dropping a division to turn out for Aston Villa and Middlesbrough towards the end of his career.

The full-back also excelled internationally, having been a part of the Wales Euro 2016 squad that reached the semi-finals, with Taylor scoring in their group stage win over Russia. He also played every minute for Team GB at the 2012 Games.

Taylor is now assistant manager for Wales’ Under-21 side.

James Tomkins

West Ham United

James Tomkins recently left Crystal Palace after eight years at Selhurst Park. The defender had moved across the capital from West Ham United, though he never made a senior appearance for England.

Tomkins only made one appearance for Team GB, playing 90 minutes in their group victory over UAE. He is now looking for a new Club at the age of 35.

Joe Allen

Swansea City

Joe Allen had just starred for a Swansea City side that more than held their own in their first season as a Premier League Club, so his inclusion won’t have been a huge surprise.

What may have raised a few eyebrows would have been his ever-presence in the side, starting every game under Pearce and assisting Daniel Sturridge’s winner against Uruguay in the group stages.

Allen spent ten years away from his boyhood Club at Liverpool and Stoke City, returning to Swansea in 2022, where he remains to this day.

Tom Cleverley

Manchester United

Tom Cleverley didn’t quite deliver on the promise his career had when he was first breaking through at Manchester United, but he developed into a fine footballer nonetheless.

The Olympics campaign saw Cleverley play every minute, with the 22-year-old assisting against UAE and netting in the shootout defeat to South Korea. He went on to accrue 13 England caps, the first of which came 11 days after Team GB’s exit.

Perhaps a victim of the mess that ensued following Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure, the midfielder gained plenty of experience through a series of loans before signing for Everton and later Watford, where he remained as a player for six years.

Cleverley is now the latest man to take on managerial responsibilities at Vicarage Road having impressed during his interim spell in charge.

Jack Cork

Southampton

All of Jack Cork’s senior international appearances were as a substitute – three at the London Olympics for Team GB, and one for England in a friendly against Germany in 2017.

Cork’s career has been successful if not remarkable, with the midfielder going on several loans from Chelsea before settling at Southampton. After a couple of seasons at Swansea, he was recruited by Sean Dyche at Burnley. He is a free agent ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Ryan Giggs

Manchester United

The captain of the GB side, Ryan Giggs was the team’s father figure at 38. The Welshman only had two more seasons at Manchester United after the Olympics campaign, but was unable to transfer the success he had with the Red Devils at London 2012.

Giggs started the first two games, scoring the opener in the win over UAE. He was a substitute in the quarter-final defeat, scoring in the shootout.

Unfortunately, his post-playing career hasn’t had the glory of his United days. He guided Wales to Euro 2020 qualification before being arrested for assault, with Rob Page taking the national side to two successive major tournaments in his absence. Giggs remains on the board at League Two side Salford City.

Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal

Wales’ captain was one of the poster boys for the Team GB side after returning to the Arsenal first team following his horrific leg break two years earlier.

He had his ups and downs at the Olympic Games, having scored GB’s equaliser from the penalty spot in the quarter-final against South Korea only to miss another just minutes later. Ramsey redeemed himself by scoring in the shootout but was powerless to stop an early exit.

Ramsey became one of the Gunners’ key players in the years that followed, though his career has somewhat dwindled since leaving north London, with underwhelming spells at Juventus and Rangers to name but a few. He has since returned to boyhood Club Cardiff City.

Scott Sinclair

Swansea City

Scott Sinclair had the distinction of being the only English player not playing his Club Football in the country, having been named as one of three Swansea City players.

Sinclair is another who spent much of his career on loan from Chelsea. The Swans eventually signed him permanently and his good form saw him earn a move to Manchester City following his stint at the Olympic Games.

He later enjoyed the finest period of his career at Celtic, where he was integral to their three Premiership titles during his stay, which also included back-to-back trebles. Now 35, he is currently at League One side Bristol Rovers, where he started his career.

Never capped at senior level, Sinclair came off the bench during Team GB’s group game against UAE, scoring a crucial goal to put them back in front. Interestingly, his brother Martin later made an appearance at the Paralympics in 7-a-side Football.

Craig Bellamy

Liverpool

One of the three elder statesmen of the squad, Craig Bellamy was beginning to wind down his playing days when named in Team GB’s Olympic team. He had just finished a testing season with Liverpool as they finished eighth, albeit with a League Cup in the trophy cabinet.

Bellamy started all four matches at the Games and scored Great Britain’s first competitive goal at the Olympics for over 50 years when he netted against Senegal, who would equalise to draw late on at Old Trafford.

After London 2012, the Welshman secured a return to Wales with Cardiff City, who he helped to promotion in his first year. He retired after the Bluebirds went straight back down, and began his coaching career as an assistant to Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht, before following him to Burnley.

Following the departure of Rob Page, he was recently named as the new Wales coach, with Bellamy charged with getting his nation to the 2026 World Cup.

Marvin Sordell

Bolton Wanderers

Marvin Sordell had plenty of clubs during his career, but was unable to truly kick on from the promise he showed after breaking through at Watford in the Championship.

He was able to have his moment as a part of Team GB’s Olympic side, with Stuart Pearce selecting him as one of three forwards having worked with him with England’s under-21s.

Sordell made two appearances at the Games, starting the win over UAE at Wembley Stadium. The 33-year-old retired aged 28 in 2019. He has since founded a film production company and become a mental wellbeing advocate, raising awareness and sharing his own experiences of mental health struggles.

Daniel Sturridge

Chelsea

Perhaps the player who had the most international success (in an England shirt, at least), Daniel Sturridge was arguably one of the more exciting talents in the squad.

The striker had just won the Champions League with Chelsea, and following the Games, moved to Liverpool where he formed a terrific partnership with Luis Suarez as the Reds came very close to winning the Premier League.

His peak was rather brief, but Sturridge still managed to become a key player for Club and country, scoring at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 – netting a last-minute winner against Wales in the latter.

Sturridge retired after spells at Trabzonspor and Perth Glory, and has since been seen in the Sky Sports studio as a pundit.

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