British basketball would be better off by merging its national federations after the 2012 Olympics, FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann said Monday. England, Wales and Scotland chose to come together to enable Britain to have men's and women's teams at the London Games, but they could decide to remain as separate entities after the Olympics. Baumann, however, said that would "be a step backwards" and advised the three countries to give up their individual votes within FIBA. "If you look at the history books, it stands out that England, Scotland and Wales have participated only a few times in major international basketball competitions, both at senior and junior levels," Baumann said. "Since they came together around 2005-2006 and started playing as Britain, they have gone from strength to strength, qualifying for EuroBasket tournaments and showing they can compete with some of the best teams." Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=6289463
Sometimes it's not only about having a better team. Playing for a national team usually has more to do with historical and social issues.
