Why are the parts of the United Kingdom classed as separate croquet associations?
When the WCF was formed in 1986, the founding fathers decided to take a pragmatic view of what constituted a “country” and more importantly, a “croquet association”. Influences on the final decision included the International Olympic Committee and The Commonwealth Games list of members and the issue of future funding of the sport. On that basis, the constituent parts of the UK were recognised as having separate croquet associations and as such, entitled to separate membership. This is similar to many sports, association football being the most prominent. Should the sport ever be represented again in the Olympic games, the IOC would only currently recognise Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is the same as UK, if not quite in name. As for the UK itself, it is a unitary State comprising England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are not part of the UK, but the UK is responsible for their external affairs. England a
