Football will kick off the London 2012 Olympics when the women's competition starts at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 25 July, two days before the official opening ceremony.
The men's and women's competitions will each involve 28 nations from six confederations playing at six venues across England, Scotland and Wales.
Granted a place as the host nation, it will be the first time that Great Britain & Northern Ireland has entered a football team in the men's competition since 1960, and the debut appearance for the women since its introduction in 1996.
But as a BBC Radio 5 Live special Team GB United will discuss at 2000 GMT on Thursday, there are more questions than answers about the two teams that will represent the home nations next year.
Top of the list is the thorny and, so far, divisive issue of whether all of the home nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will come together.
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QPR manager Neil Warnock opted for "talented, exciting and frustrating" when asked to describe his captain Adel Taarabt in three words.
It is the first two qualities that saw the mercurial Morocco international named the Football League player of the year at an awards ceremony in London on Sunday.
The 21-year-old has undoubtedly been QPR's ace in the pack this season as they have built a nine-point lead at the top of the Championship with eight games remaining. He has scored 15 goals and provided at least the same number of assists (the exact figure is the subject of disagreement, with estimates ranging from 15 to 20).
But Taarabt is about so much more that statistics.
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What does a football club mean to you? Are you only concerned about what happens on a Saturday afternoon/midweek evening and nothing else? Or does a football club play a more important role than that?
Take, for example, the story of Josie Ogle.
Desperate to find something that would give her terminally ill husband John some enjoyment in his last days, the pensioner spotted an advert in her local newspaper for a weekly social event at Watford Football Club.
"Had it been in a church hall, he would not have been interested but because it was at the football club he was happy to go," Josie told me.
They went along and discovered a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, with a range of activities from board games to Tai Chi and indoor bowls.
Specifically targeting the over-60s, the Extra Time club runs from 1000 until 1200 on Thursdays. For Ogle and her husband, it soon became a regular date in their diary.
"He was motivated every Thursday even if he did not feel well," said Josie. "As we made friendships, I think he saw that there would be something for me after he died."
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Hello, I'm Paul Fletcher and I mainly write about life in the Football League. I have a great enthusiasm for a whole range of sports and love to spread the word about the great game of rugby league. You can also follow me on 
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