ENGLAND/GB
One notable absentee was Great Britain. Resistance from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FA’s, who fear a combined team would threaten their independent status within FIFA, meant the UK turned down the place won by England at the 2015 World Cup. England manager Mark Sampson said he believed his team “would have won the gold medal”. They would certainly have been contenders, especially if bolstered by the likes of Scotland’s Kim Little and Jess Fishlock of Wales. However, despite talk of fielding a team in Tokyo, football politics is likely to deny them.