Omar Salem Morton Grove, Ill. I was just reading the article about the teams that qualified for the Olympics and it said that England does not compete in the Olympics. Can you tell me why that is? Mike Woitalla: England is, strictly speaking, not a nation. It is the most populous political division of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, which includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have separate national teams in the soccer world, even though the players hold the same passport. They represent the four oldest soccer associations in the world and thus are granted independent teams by FIFA. (The Republic of Ireland, which became officially independent in 1922, played its first national team game in 1924. Ireland is, obviously, eligible for the Olympic tournament if it succeeded to qualify.) England sending a soccer team to the Olympics would tantamount to California trying to enter the Games. Olympic athletes from the England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all compete for Great Britain. The four British federations have, in the past, cooperated to field an Olympic soccer team. But they longer do so. (If you have a question for a Soccer America Magazine editor, click “Q&A with SA Editors” in the left column of the home page under “Interactive.”)