Euro Cup 2016 Catherine Ivill- AMA/Getty Images

Football, Brexit, and Us

Of the 24 teams that qualified for this year’s UEFA European Cup tournament, only one came from Germany, but three came from the UK: England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The Brexit vote is less surprising when one understands why, for both fans and citizens, less is often more.

CAMBRIDGE – Of the 24 teams that qualified for this year’s UEFA European Cup football (soccer) tournament, only one came from Germany. Three came from the United Kingdom: England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. That seems rather odd. After all, East and West Germans reunited only in 1991, and Bavarians united with Prussians only in 1871, whereas the annexations/unions of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland to the Kingdom of England go back to 1177, 1542, and 1707, respectively.

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