Giggs to skipper Team GB

Manchester United stalwart Ryan Giggs will captain Great Britain’s football team at the London Olympics.

The 38-year-old Welshman is one of three permitted over-age players in Stuart Pearce’s 18-man squad.

Liverpool and Wales forward Craig Bellamy, 32, and Manchester City and England defender Micah Richards, 24, were also chosen.

“Obviously it is a tremendous honour to be part of the Olympics,” Giggs told Sky Sports News.

“Stuart has obviously given me the captaincy, which is even better so I am really looking forward to it.

“It is a unique experience and one from the start that I wanted to be part of when I got the opportunity.

“I think it just got more and more exciting as the Games got nearer and then when the squads were announced I was obviously really, really proud to be involved.”

Giggs, a winner of 12 English Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League competitions, will be competing at his first international tournament.

“He’s been a fantastic professional over the years and is someone I’m looking forward to working alongside,” Pearce said.

“I think he was the standout captain in a group that has got the Welsh captain in Aaron Ramsey, Micah Richards, who has captained Manchester City, and Craig Bellamy, who has been around the game a very long time.

“But I think Ryan will gain the respect of the group and he has got the respect of the management as well.”

Great Britain will open the tournament against Senegal at Manchester’s Old Trafford on July 26, before facing the United Arab Emirates at London’s Wembley Stadium three days later.

They will end their Group A campaign against Uruguay at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on August 1.