Football at the Summer Olympics

Football at the Summer Olympics
Governing body	FIFA
Events	2 (men: 1; women: 1)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Medalists
Tournaments (men・women)

Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament,^{[note 1]} has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA World Cup tournament). Women's football was added to the official program at the 1996 Atlanta Games.^[1]

So as to avoid competition with the World Cup, FIFA have restricted participation of elite players in the men's tournament in various ways. Currently squads for the men's tournament are required to be composed of players under 23 years of age, with three permitted exceptions. By comparison, the women's soccer tournament is a senior-level international tournament, second in prestige only to the FIFA Women's World Cup.^[2][3]

Men's tournament[]

Men's Olympic Football Tournament

Founded	1900[4]
Region	International (FIFA)
Number of teams	16 (finals) (from 6 confederations)
Current champions	Brazil (2nd title)
Most successful team(s)	Great Britain  Hungary (3 titles each)
2020 Summer Olympics

History[]

Pre-World Cup era[]

Beginnings[]

Football was not included in the program at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, as international football was in its infancy at the time. However, sources claim that an unofficial football tournament was organised during the first competition, with participating teams including Athens and Smyrna (Izmir), then part of the Ottoman Empire.^[5] According to Bill Mallon's research, this is an error which has been perpetuated in multiple texts.^[6]

Tournaments were played at the 1900 and 1904 games and the Intercalated Games of 1906, but these were contested by various clubs and scratch teams.^[5] Although the IOC considers the 1900 and 1904 tournaments to be official Olympic events, they are not recognised by FIFA, and neither recognises the Intercalated Games today. In 1906 teams from Great Britain, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and France withdrew from an unofficial competition and left Denmark, Smyrna (one Armenian, two Frenchmen and eight Britons), Athens and Thessaloniki to compete. Denmark won the final against Athens 9–0.

British successes[]

In the London Games of 1908 a proper international tournament was organised by the Football Association, featuring just six teams. The number of teams rose to eleven in 1912, when the competition was organised by the Swedish Football Association. Many of these early matches were unbalanced, as evidenced by high scoring games; two players, Sophus Nielsen in 1908 and Gottfried Fuchs in 1912, each scored ten goals in a single match. All players were amateurs, in accordance with the Olympic rules, which meant that countries could not send their full senior national teams. The National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Ireland asked the Football Association to send an English national amateur team. Some of the English members played with professional clubs, most notably Derby County's Ivan Sharpe, Bradford City F.C. Harold Walden and Chelsea's Vivian Woodward. England won the first two official tournaments convincingly, beating Denmark both times.

1920s and the rise of Uruguay[]

The Uruguay national football team that won the 1928 Olympic tournament

During the 1920 final against Belgium, the Czechoslovakia national football team walked off the field to protest the refereeing of John Lewis^[7] and the militarised mood within the stadium in Antwerp. This would be the final all-European football competition at the Olympic games, with Egypt, the United States, and Uruguay participating in 1924.^[7] With teams from new regions the quality of play increased, as did fan interest.^[7] Uruguay dominated the tournament, winning their four games by a combined score of 15-1: the final was a 3-0 victory over Switzerland.^[7] In 1928, football was the most popular event at the games^[8] and the final was an all-South American affair. Because no other major international tournament existed yet, Uruguay defeated Argentina 2-1 in what David Goldblatt says was "football's first world championship".^[9] After these tournaments, FIFA realized that the Olympic movement prevented nations from competing on an equal footing and, given that the Olympics only permitted amateurs to participate, did not represent the true strength of the international game. The popularity of international soccer gave FIFA the inventive to create an international tournament, and FIAF began organising the World Cup.^[8]

After the first World Cup[]

Tumultuous '30s[]

Following Henri Delaunay's proposal in 1929 to initiate a professional World Championship of Football, the sport was dropped from the 1932 Los Angeles Games by FIFA in an attempt to promote the new tournament. Football returned to controversy at the 1936 Berlin Games. The German organisers were intent on the return of the game to the Olympic movement since it guaranteed income into the organisation's coffers. The Italian team intimidated a referee. Peru scored a contested victory over Austria in overtime, with a fan invasion of the field at the very end. The Austrian team asked for the result to be annulled, and the game repeated. FIFA agreed, but the Peruvian team refused and left the Olympics.^[10][11]

Soviet Bloc dominance amid amateurism controversy[]

As professionalism spread around the world, the gap in quality between the World Cup and the Olympics widened. The countries that benefited most were the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe, where top athletes were state-sponsored while retaining their status as amateurs. As a result, young Western amateurs had to face seasoned and veteran Soviet Bloc teams, which put them at a significant disadvantage. All Olympic football tournaments from 1948 to 1980 were dominated by the Soviet Union and its satellites.^[12] Between 1948 and 1988, 25 out of 34 Olympic medals were won by Eastern Europe, with only Sweden (gold in 1948 and bronze in 1952), Denmark (bronze in 1948 and silver in 1960) and Japan (bronze in 1968) breaking their dominance, the last two of these seeing some changes due to FIFA's changing of the call-up rules, with only Yugoslavia (bronze in 1984) and the Soviet Union (gold in 1988) winning medals for the Eastern Bloc.

Changes and developments[]

For the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the IOC decided to admit professional players. FIFA still did not want the Olympics to rival the World Cup, so a compromise was struck that allowed teams from countries outside of UEFA and CONMEBOL to field their strongest sides, while restricting UEFA and CONMEBOL (the strongest confederations whose teams played all finals and won every single World Cup title) countries to players who had not played in a World Cup. The 1984 rules were maintained also for the 1988 edition, but with an additional paragraph: those European and South American footballers who had previously played less than 90 minutes in one single match of the World Cup, were eligible.^[13]

1992–present: Age restrictions introduced[]

Since 1992 male competitors have been required to be under 23 years old; since 1996, a maximum of three over-23-year-old players have been allowed per squad.^[a] African countries have taken particular advantage of this, with Nigeria and Cameroon winning in 1996 and 2000 respectively.

Because of the unusual format and the separation from the main national teams that play the World Cup and top continental tournaments, historically strong men's national teams have unimpressive Olympic records. Uruguay won the tournament in their first two attempts, in 1924 and 1928, their only appearances before they qualified for the 2012 edition, after an 84-year absence. Argentina won silver twice (1928 and 1996) before the 2004 tournament, but its appearance in Athens 2004, in which it won the first gold medal, was only their seventh overall. Brazil's silver medals in the 1984, 1988 and 2012 editions were the best they had achieved until 2016's gold, and since professional athletes were allowed to compete, they failed to qualify in 1992 and 2004. Italy has only won the Olympic title once, in 1936, although it has also won two bronzes, and has the highest number of appearances in the tournament, at 15, with their last qualify in 2008. France has won the Olympic title only once (in 1984) and between 1996 and 2016 failed to qualify for the Olympics before qualifying again in 2020. Germany's best result (before 2016 edition) was a single bronze medal, in 1988 as West Germany, and the reunified team did not make an Olympic appearance until 2016, when they won silver. Spain has won the gold medal only once, in 1992 (when they hosted the Olympics). It has also won 3 silver medals (in 1920, 2000 and 2020) but has failed to qualify several times.

British non-involvement[]

Football in the United Kingdom has no single governing body, and there are separate teams for the UK's four Home Nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Only the English Football Association (FA) is affiliated to the British Olympic Association (BOA), and the FA entered "Great Britain" teams to the football tournaments until 1972. In 1974, the FA abolished the distinction between "amateur" and "professional" football, and stopped entering the Olympics. Even though FIFA has allowed professionals at the Olympics since 1984, the FA did not re-enter, as the Home Nations feared that a united British Olympic team would set a precedent that might cause FIFA to question their separate status in other FIFA competitions and on the International Football Association Board.^[15][16]

When London was selected to host the 2012 Games, there was pressure on the English FA to exercise the host nation's automatic right to field a team.^[17] In 2009 the plan agreed by the FA with the Welsh FA, Scottish FA and Irish FA was only to field English players;^[18] however the BOA overruled this,^[19] and ultimately there were Welsh players in the men's squad and Scots in the women's squad.^[20] After the 2012 games, the FA decided that no team would be entered in subsequent men's tournaments, but was open to fielding a women's team again.^[21]

For the 2020 tournament, FIFA stated that women's UK team (not applied to men's UK team) may enter the Olympics after the four FAs agreed, depending on the performance of women's English team in 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (which serves as the European qualification for the Olympics).^[22][23]

Venues[]

Due to the number of large stadia required for the Olympic tournament, venues in distant cities – often more than 200 km (120 mi) away from the main host – are typically used for the football tournament. In an extreme example, two early-round venues for the 1984 Games were on the East Coast of the United States, well over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the host city of Los Angeles. The next Games held in the United States, the 1996 Games, were unique in that no matches were held in the host city of Atlanta; the nearest venue and the site of the finals was 65 miles (105 km) away on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Counting the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, there are 127 venues that have hosted Olympic football, the most of any sport.

Edition of the Olympic Games	City	Stadium
Athens 1896	No football tournament
Paris 1900	Paris	Vélodrome de Vincennes
Saint Louis 1904	St. Louis, Missouri	Francis Field
London 1908	London	White City Stadium
Stockholm 1912	Stockholm	Stockholms Olympiastadion
		Råsunda Stadium
		Tranebergs Idrottsplats
Antwerp 1920	Antwerp	Olympisch Stadion
		Stadion Broodstraat
	Brussels	Stade de l'Union St. Gilloise
	Ghent	Stade d'A.A. La Gantoise
Paris 1924	Paris	Stade Olympique, Colombes
		Stade Bergeyre
		Stade de Paris, Saint-Ouen
		Stade Pershing, Vincennes
Amsterdam 1928	Amsterdam	Olympisch Stadion
		Harry Elte Stadium
Los Angeles 1932	No football tournament
Berlin 1936	Berlin	Olympiastadion
		Poststadion, Tiergarten
		Mommsenstadion, Charlottenburg
		Hertha-BSC-Platz
London 1948	London	Empire Stadium, Wembley
		White Hart Lane, Tottenham
		Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace
		Craven Cottage, Fulham
		Griffin Park, Brentford
		Arsenal Stadium, Highbury
		Lynn Road, Ilford
		Green Pond Road, Walthamstow
		Champion Hill, Dulwich
	Brighton	Goldstone Ground
	Portsmouth	Fratton Park
Helsinki 1952	Helsinki	Olympiastadion
		Töölö Football Grounds
	Turku	Kupittaa Stadium
	Tampere	Ratina Stadion
	Lahti	Kisapuisto
	Kotka	Kotka Stadion
Melbourne 1956	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
		Olympic Park Stadium
Rome 1960	Rome	Stadio Flaminio
	Florence	Stadio Comunale
	Grosseto	Stadio Comunale
	Livorno	Stadio Ardenza
	Pescara	Stadio Adriatico
	L'Aquila	Stadio Comunale
	Naples	Stadio Fuorigrotta
Tokyo 1964	Tokyo	National Olympic Stadium
		Prince Chichibu Memorial Field
		Komazawa Stadium
	Ōmiya	Omiya Soccer Stadium
	Yokohama	Mitsuzawa Football Stadium
Mexico City 1968	Mexico City	Estadio Azteca
	Puebla	Estadio Cuauhtémoc
	Guadalajara	Estadio Jalisco
	León	Estadio León
Munich 1972	Munich	Olympiastadion
	Augsburg	Rosenaustadion
	Ingolstadt	ESV-Stadion
	Regensburg	Jahnstadion
	Nuremberg	Städtisches Stadion
	Passau	Drei Flüsse Stadion
Montreal 1976	Montreal	Olympic Stadium
	Sherbrooke	Municipal Stadium
	Toronto	Varsity Stadium
	Ottawa	Lansdowne Stadium
Moscow 1980	Moscow	Grand Central Lenin Stadium
		Dynamo Stadium
	Leningrad	Kirov Stadium
	Kyiv	Republican Stadium
	Minsk	Dinamo Stadium
Los Angeles 1984	Pasadena, California	Rose Bowl
	Boston, Massachusetts	Harvard Stadium
	Annapolis, Maryland	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
	Stanford, California	Stanford Stadium
Seoul 1988	Seoul	Seoul Olympic Stadium
		Dongdaemun Stadium
	Busan	Busan Stadium
	Daegu	Daegu Stadium
	Daejeon	Daejeon Stadium
	Gwangju	Gwangju Stadium
Barcelona 1992	Barcelona	Camp Nou
		Estadi de Sarrià
	Sabadell	Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta
	Zaragoza	Estadio La Romareda
	Valencia	Estadio Luis Casanova
Atlanta 1996	Athens, Georgia	Sanford Stadium
	Orlando, Florida	Citrus Bowl
	Birmingham, Alabama	Legion Field
	Miami, Florida	Miami Orange Bowl
	Washington, D.C.	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
Sydney 2000	Sydney	Sydney Olympic Stadium
		Sydney Football Stadium
	Brisbane	Brisbane Cricket Ground
	Adelaide	Hindmarsh Stadium
	Canberra	Bruce Stadium
	Melbourne	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Athens 2004	Marousi	Olympic Stadium
	Piraeus	Karaiskakis Stadium
	Patras	Pampeloponnisiako Stadium
	Volos	Panthessaliko Stadium
	Thessaloniki	Kaftanzoglio Stadium
	Heraklion	Pankritio Stadium
Beijing 2008	Beijing	Beijing National Stadium
		Workers' Stadium
	Tianjin	Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium
	Shanghai	Shanghai Stadium
	Qinhuangdao	Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium
	Shenyang	Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium
London 2012	London	Wembley Stadium
	Glasgow	Hampden Park
	Cardiff	Millennium Stadium
	Coventry	City of Coventry Stadium[b]
	Manchester	Old Trafford
	Newcastle upon Tyne	St James' Park[b]
Rio 2016	Rio de Janeiro	Estádio do Maracanã
		Estádio Olímpico João Havelange
	São Paulo	Arena Corinthians
	Brasília	Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha
	Salvador	Arena Fonte Nova[c]
	Belo Horizonte	Estádio Mineirão
	Manaus	Arena da Amazônia
Tokyo 2020
	Tokyo	Tokyo Stadium[d]
	Yokohama	International Stadium Yokohama[d]
	Kashima	Kashima Soccer Stadium
	Saitama	Saitama Stadium 2002
	Rifu	Miyagi Stadium
	Sapporo	Sapporo Dome

Events[]

Competition format[]

For both the men's and women's tournaments, the competition consists of a round-robin group stage followed by a knockout stage. Teams are placed into groups of 4 teams, with each team playing each other team in its group once. Teams earn 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The top two teams in each group (as well as the top two third-place finishers, in the women's tournament) advance to the knockout rounds. The knockout rounds are a single-elimination tournament consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and the gold and bronze medal matches.

Matches consist of two halves of 45 minutes each. Since 2004, during the knockout rounds, if the match is tied after 90 minutes, two 15-minute halves of extra time are played (extra time is skipped in favour of immediate penalty kicks in the bronze medal match if it is played on the same day in the same stadium as the gold medal match). If the score remains tied, penalty kicks, which is 5 rounds, plus extra rounds if tied, are used to determine the winner.^[24]

The qualifying tournament, like that for the World Cup, is organised along continental lines. Most continental confederations organise a special Under-23 qualifying tournament, although the European qualifiers are drawn from the finalists of the UEFA Under-21 Championship. Teams participating in the preliminary and final competitions must be composed of U-23 players, with up to three players who are at least 23. For Tokyo 2020, U-23 players are born after 1 January 1997.^[a][25]

For the 2020 Games, the number of places allocated to each continent is:

• Europe – 4
• Asia – 4 (includes host Japan)
• Africa – 3
• South America – 2
• North America – 2
• Oceania – 1

Participating nations[]

Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games. Host nation is shown in bold.

UEFA
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Austria	–	–		–	6	–	–	–	2	11	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
Belarus	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	1
Belgium	3	–		–	–	1	15	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–	–	5
Bulgaria	–	–		–	–	–	10	–	–	–	17	3	5	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5
Czech Republic	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	1
Czechoslovakia	–	–		–	–	9	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	9	–	–	1	WD	–	Split into Slovakia and Czech Republic								5
Denmark	–	–		2	2	10	–	–	–	3	5	–	2	–	–	6	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	9
East Germany[26]	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	–	–	3	–	3	1	2	WD	–	Merged with West Germany								4
Estonia	–	–		–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Finland	–	–		–	4	–	–	–	9	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
France	2	–		5	–	4	5	9	–	5	17	–	9	–	7	–	5	–	1	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	13	13
Germany[27]	–	–		–	7	–	–	5	5	–	4	9	–	–	–	5	–	–	5	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	9	10
Great Britain	1	–		1	1	11	–	–	5	4	17	5	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	10
Greece	–	–		–	–	13	–	–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	3
Hungary	–	–		–	5	–	13	–	9	–	1	WD	3	1	1	2	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	9
Ireland	–	–		–	–	–	7	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Israel	Competed with Asia (qualified 2 times)																	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Italy	–	–		–	8	5	6	3	1	5	9	–	4	DSQ	–	–	–	–	4	4	5	12	5	3	5	–	–	–	15
Latvia	–	–		–	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Lithuania	–	–		–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Luxembourg	–	–		–	–	12	11	9	9	9	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
Netherlands	–	–		3	3	3	4	9	–	9	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	8
Norway	–	–		–	9	7	–	–	3	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5
Poland	–	–		–	–	–	17	–	4	–	9	–	10	–	–	1	2	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7
Portugal	–	–		–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	14	–	–	6	–	4
Romania	–	–		–	–	–	14	–	–	–	17	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	4
Russia	–	–		–	10	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Serbia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	1
Serbia and Montenegro	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	Split into 2 nations				1
Slovakia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	–	–	1
Soviet Union	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	1	–	–	–	3	3	3	WD	1	–	Split into 15 nations							6
Spain	–	–		–	–	2	17	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	12	10	–	–	1	6	2	–	–	14	–	2	11
Sweden	–	–		4	11	6	3	–	9	1	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	6	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	10
Switzerland	–	–		–	–	–	2	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	3
Turkey	–	–		–	–	–	17	9	9	5	5	WD	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6
Yugoslavia	–	–		–	–	9	17	9	–	2	2	2	1	6	–	–	–	4	3	10	–	Split into 7 nations							11
CONMEBOL
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Argentina	–	–		–	–	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	7	10	–	–	–	WD	–	8	–	2	–	1	1	–	11	10	9
Brazil	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	6	9	13	13	4	–	2	2	–	3	7	–	3	2	1	1	14
Chile	–	–		–	–	–	–	17	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	4
Colombia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	11	–	11	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	5
Paraguay	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	2
Peru	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Uruguay	–	–		–	–	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	3
Venezuela	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
CONCACAF
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Canada	–	1		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	-	3
Costa Rica	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	13	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	3
Cuba	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
El Salvador	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Guatemala	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	10	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Honduras	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	16	7	4	14	5
Mexico	–	–		–	–	–	–	9	–	11	–	–	–	11	4	7	9	–	–	DSQ	10	7	–	10	–	1	9	3	12
Netherlands Antilles	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Split into 2 n.			1
United States	–	2[28]	3	–	–	–	12	9	9	11	17	5	–	–	–	14	–	WD	9	12	9	10	4	–	9	–	–	–	14
CAF
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Algeria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	2
Cameroon	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	1	–	8	–	–	–	3
Egypt	–	–		–	–	8	8	4	9	11	9	WD	12	4	–	–	–	WD	8	–	12	–	–	–	–	8	–	8	12
Ivory Coast	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	7	2
Gabon	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	–	1
Ghana	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	12	16	WD	WD	–	–	3	8	–	9	–	–	–	–	6
Guinea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Mali	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	1
Morocco	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	WD	8	–	–	12	–	15	–	16	10	–	11	–	–	7
Nigeria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	WD	13	–	15	–	1	8	–	2	–	3	–	7
Senegal	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	1
South Africa	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–	–	13	16	3
Sudan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Tunisia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	14	–	12	–	–	–	–	4
Zambia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	15	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
AFC
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Afghanistan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	17	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Australia	Competed with Oceania (qualified 6 times)																								11	–	–	12	2
China	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	9	11	–	WD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	13	–	–	–	4
Chinese Taipei	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	−	−	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
India	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	11	17	4	13	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4
Indonesia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Iran	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	–	12	7	WD	−	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3
Iraq	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	14	9	–	–	–	4	–	–	12	–	5
Israel	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	6	–	Competed with Europe										2
Japan	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	9	–	8	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	6	13	15	4	10	4	11
Kuwait	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–	16	–	12	–	–	–	–	–	3
Malaysia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	WD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Myanmar	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
North Korea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	WD	–	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Qatar	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	8	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
Saudi Arabia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	–	15	–	–	–	–	–	15	3
South Korea	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	11	11	11	9	6	10	3	5	5	11
Syria	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
Thailand	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
United Arab Emirates	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	–	1
OFC
Nation	00	04		08	12	20	24	28	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Australia	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	4	13	15	7	AFC (qualified 2 times)				6
Fiji	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16	–	1
New Zealand	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	16	–	6	3
Total nations	3	2		5	11	14	22	17	16	18	25	11	16	14	16	16	13	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

Results[]

Ed.	Year	Host	Gold medal match			Bronze medal match
			Gold medal	Score	Silver medal	Bronze medal	Score	Fourth place
–	1896	Athens	(No tournament held)
1	1900	Paris	Great Britain (Upton Park F.C.)	–[note 4]	France (Club Français)	Belgium (Univ. Brussels)	–[note 4]	–[note 5]
2	1904	St. Louis	Canada (Galt F.C.)	–[note 4]	United States (Christian Bro. College)	United States (St. Rose Parish)	–[note 4]	–[note 5]
3	1908	London	Great Britain	2–0	Denmark	Netherlands	2–0	Sweden
4	1912	Stockholm	Great Britain	4–2	Denmark	Netherlands	9–0	Finland
5	1920	Antwerp	Belgium	–[note 6]	Spain	Netherlands	–[note 6]	France
6	1924	Paris	Uruguay	3–0	Switzerland	Sweden	1–1 (a.e.t.) 3–1 (replay)	Netherlands
7	1928	Amsterdam	Uruguay	1–1 (a.e.t.) 2–1 (replay)	Argentina	Italy	11–3	Egypt
–	1932	Los Angeles	(No tournament held)
8	1936	Berlin	Italy	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Austria	Norway	3–2	Poland
9	1948	London	Sweden	3–1	Yugoslavia	Denmark	5–3	Great Britain
10	1952	Helsinki	Hungary	2–0	Yugoslavia	Sweden	2–0	Germany
11	1956	Melbourne	Soviet Union	1–0	Yugoslavia	Bulgaria	3–0	India
12	1960	Rome	Yugoslavia	3–1	Denmark	Hungary	2–1	Italy
13	1964	Tokyo	Hungary	2–1	Czechoslovakia	Germany [26]	3–1	United Arab
14	1968	Mexico City	Hungary	4–1	Bulgaria	Japan	2–0	Mexico
15	1972	Munich	Poland	2–1	Hungary	East Germany  Soviet Union	2–2 (a.e.t)	– [note 7]
16	1976	Montreal	East Germany	3–1	Poland	Soviet Union	2–0	Brazil
17	1980	Moscow	Czechoslovakia	1–0	East Germany	Soviet Union	2–0	Yugoslavia
18	1984	Los Angeles	France	2–0	Brazil	Yugoslavia	2–1	Italy
19	1988	Seoul	Soviet Union	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Brazil	Germany	3–0	Italy
20	1992	Barcelona	Spain	3–2	Poland	Ghana	1–0	Australia
21	1996	Atlanta	Nigeria	3–2	Argentina	Brazil	5–0	Portugal
22	2000	Sydney	Cameroon	2–2 (5–3, p.)	Spain	Chile	2–0	United States
23	2004	Athens	Argentina	1–0	Paraguay	Italy	1–0	Iraq
24	2008	Beijing	Argentina	1–0	Nigeria	Brazil	3–0	Belgium
25	2012	London	Mexico	2–1	Brazil	South Korea	2–0	Japan
26	2016	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	1–1 (5–4, p.)	Germany	Nigeria	3–2	Honduras
27	2020	Tokyo	Brazil	2–1 (a.e.t)	Spain	Mexico	3–1	Japan
28	2024	Paris	TBD		TBD	TBD		TBD

Notes

Performances by countries[]

Below are the 41 nations that have reached at least the semi-final stage in the Summer Olympics finals.

Team	Gold medals	Silver medals	Bronze medals	Fourth place	Medals
Hungary	3 (1952, 1964, 1968)	1 (1972)	1 (1960)		5
Great Britain	3 (1900, 1908, 1912)			1 (1948)	3
Brazil	2 (2016, 2020)	3 (1984, 1988, 2012)	2 (1996, 2008)	1 (1976)	7
Argentina	2 (2004, 2008)	2 (1928, 1996)			4
Soviet Union	2 (1956, 1988)		3 (1972, 1976, 1980)		5
Uruguay	2 (1924, 1928)				2
Yugoslavia	1 (1960)	3 (1948, 1952, 1956)	1 (1984)	1 (1980)	5
Spain	1 (1992)	3 (1920, 2000, 2020)			4
Poland	1 (1972)	2 (1976, 1992)		1 (1936)	3
East Germany	1 (1976)	1 (1980)	1 (1972)		3
Nigeria	1 (1996)	1 (2008)	1 (2016)		3
France	1 (1984)	1 (1900)		1 (1920)	2
Czechoslovakia	1 (1980)	1 (1964)			2
Italy	1 (1936)		2 (1928, 2004)	3 (1960, 1984, 1988)	3
Sweden	1 (1948)		2 (1924, 1952)	1 (1908)	3
Mexico	1 (2012)		1 (2020)	1 (1968)	2
Belgium	1 (1920)		1 (1900)	1 (2008)	2
Canada	1 (1904)				1
Cameroon	1 (2000)				1
Denmark		3 (1908, 1912, 1960)	1 (1948)		4
United States		1 (1904)	1 (1904)	1 (2000)	2
Bulgaria		1 (1968)	1 (1956)		2
Germany		1 (2016)		1 (1952)	1
Switzerland		1 (1924)			1
Austria		1 (1936)			1
Paraguay		1 (2004)			1
Netherlands			3 (1908, 1912, 1920)	1 (1924)	3
Japan			1 (1968)	2 (2012, 2020)	1
Norway			1 (1936)		1
United Team of Germany			1 (1964)		1
West Germany			1 (1988)		1
Ghana			1 (1992)		1
Chile			1 (2000)		1
South Korea			1 (2012)		1
Egypt				2 (1928, 1964)	0
Finland				1 (1912)	0
India				1 (1956)	0
Australia				1 (1992)	0
Portugal				1 (1996)	0
Iraq				1 (2004)	0
Honduras				1 (2016)	0

Top scorers by tournament[]

Year	Player	Goals
1900	Gaston Peltier John Nicholas	2
1904	Alexander Hall Tom Taylor	3
1908	Sophus Nielsen	11
1912	Gottfried Fuchs	10
1920	Herbert Karlsson	7
1924	Pedro Petrone	7
1928	Domingo Tarasconi	9
1936	Annibale Frossi	7
1948	John Hansen Gunnar Nordahl	7
1952	Rajko Mitić Branko Zebec	7
1956	Neville D'Souza Todor Veselinović Dimitar Milanov	4
1960	Harald Nielsen	8
1964	Ferenc Bene	12
1968	Kunishige Kamamoto	7
1972	Kazimierz Deyna	9
1976	Andrzej Szarmach	6
1980	Sergey Andreyev	5
1984	Borislav Cvetković Stjepan Deverić Daniel Xuereb	5
1988	Romario	7
1992	Andrzej Juskowiak	7
1996	Bebeto Hernán Crespo	6
2000	Iván Zamorano	6
2004	Carlos Tevez	8
2008	Giuseppe Rossi	4
2012	Leandro Damião	6
2016	Serge Gnabry Nils Petersen	6
2020	Richarlison	5

Records[]

Starting with the first official football tournament in London in 1908, Denmark's Sophus Nielsen and Hungary's Antal Dunai share the record for the most total goals scored by a player in tournament history. Both have 13 goals: Nielsen scored 11 goals in 1908 and two in 1912, and Dunai scored six in 1968 and seven in 1972. Ferenc Bene holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single Olympics tournament, scoring 12 goals in the 1964 edition. Sophus Nielsen and Gottfried Fuchs share the record for most goals scored in a single Olympic match at 10. Nielson achieved that in the semi-final match against France in 1908, and Fuchs did so in the first-round match against Russia in the 1912 consolation tournament.

Neymar scored the fastest goal in a men's Olympic football match in history, 14 seconds into the semi-final match against Honduras on 17 August 2016.^[32]

All-time top scorers[]

The all-time top goalscorers with at least 7 goals (since 1908)

Rank	Name	Team	Goals
1	Sophus Nielsen	Denmark	13
	Antal Dunai	Hungary	13
3	Ferenc Bene	Hungary	12
4	Domingo Tarasconi	Argentina	11
	Pedro Petrone	Uruguay	11
6	Gottfried Fuchs	Germany	10
	Kazimierz Deyna	Poland	10
8	Harold Walden	Great Britain	9
	Vilhelm Wolfhagen	Denmark	9
10	Jan Vos	Netherlands	8
	Hector Scarone	Uruguay	8
	Carlos Tevez	Argentina	8
	Bebeto	Brazil	8
	Harald Nielsen	Denmark	8
	Ibrahim Reyadh	Egypt	8
15	John Hansen	Denmark	7
	Anthon Olsen	Denmark	7
	Gunnar Nordahl	Sweden	7
	Annibale Frossi	Italy	7
	Vilhelm Wolfhagen	Denmark	7
	Herbert Carlsson	Sweden	7
	Branko Zebec	Yugoslavia	7
	Milan Galić	Yugoslavia	7
	Kunishige Kamamoto	Japan	7
	Andrzej Juskowiak	Poland	7
	Romario	Brazil	7
	Neymar	Brazil	7

Medal table[]

• Countries ranked by total medals won including 1900 and 1904.
• Bronze medals shared in 1972 tournament

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Hungary	3	1	1	5
2	Great Britain	3	0	0	3
3	Brazil	2	3	2	7
4	Argentina	2	2	0	4
5	Soviet Union	2	0	3	5
6	Uruguay	2	0	0	2
7	Yugoslavia	1	3	1	5
8	Spain	1	3	0	4
9	Poland	1	2	0	3
10	East Germany	1	1	1	3
	Nigeria	1	1	1	3
12	Czechoslovakia	1	1	0	2
	France	1	1	0	2
14	Italy	1	0	2	3
	Sweden	1	0	2	3
16	Belgium	1	0	1	2
	Mexico	1	0	1	2
18	Cameroon	1	0	0	1
	Canada	1	0	0	1
20	Denmark	0	3	1	4
21	Bulgaria	0	1	1	2
	United States	0	1	1	2
23	Austria	0	1	0	1
	Germany	0	1	0	1
	Paraguay	0	1	0	1
	Switzerland	0	1	0	1
27	Netherlands	0	0	3	3
28	Chile	0	0	1	1
	Ghana	0	0	1	1
	Japan	0	0	1	1
	Norway	0	0	1	1
	South Korea	0	0	1	1
	United Team of Germany	0	0	1	1
	West Germany	0	0	1	1
Totals (34 nations)		27	27	28	82

Women's tournament[]

Women's Olympic Football Tournament

Founded	1996
Region	International (FIFA)
Number of teams	12 (finals) (from 6 confederations)
Current champions	Canada (1st title)
Most successful team(s)	United States (4 titles)
2020 Summer Olympics

The women's tournament is contested between the full senior national teams, with no restrictions. One place is reserved for the host country. Of the remaining teams, as in World Cup contests a specific number of places are reserved for teams from each continental region; the European (UEFA) teams are chosen from the most successful European teams in the previous year's World Cup, whilst the other continental regions host their own qualifying tournaments in the build-up to the Olympics.

The first women's tournament was at the 1996 Atlanta Games. The United States won the gold medal. Norway defeated the U.S. in 2000 by a golden goal that was highly controversial and seemed like a handball, but was allowed to stand.^[33] The finals of the next two tournaments, in 2004 and 2008, also went to extra time, with the U.S. defeating Brazil both times. In 2012 the U.S. won their fourth gold medal defeating Japan 2–1 in the final. In 2016 Germany won its first gold, defeating Sweden in the final.

Allocation of places for each continent in the 2020 Games is:

• Europe – 3
• Africa – 1 or 2
• Asia – 3 (includes host Japan)
• South America – 1 or 2
• North America – 2
• Oceania – 1

Participating nations[]

Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games. Host nation is shown in bold.

Nation	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	24	Years
Argentina	–	–	–	11	–	–	–		1
Australia	–	7	5	–	–	7	4		4
Brazil	4	4	2	2	6	4	6		7
Cameroon	–	–	–	–	12	–	–		1
Canada	–	–	–	8	3	3	1		4
Chile	–	–	–	–	–	–	11		1
China	2	5	9	5	–	8	10		6
Colombia	–	–	–	–	11	11	–		2
Denmark	8	–	–	–	–	–	–		1
France	–	–	–	–	4	6	–	Q	3
Germany	5	3	3	3	–	1	–		5
Great Britain	–	–	–	–	5	–	7		2
Greece	–	–	10	–	–	–	–		1
Japan	7	–	7	4	2	–	8		5
Mexico	–	–	8	–	–	–	–		1
Netherlands	–	–	–	–	–	–	5		1
New Zealand	–	–	–	10	8	9	12		4
Nigeria	–	8	6	11	–	–	–		3
North Korea	–	–	–	9	9	–	–		2
Norway	3	1	–	7	–	–	–		3
South Africa	–	–	–	–	10	10	–		2
Sweden	6	6	4	6	7	2	2		7
United States	1	2	1	1	1	5	3		7
Zambia	–	–	–	–	–	–	9		1
Zimbabwe	–	–	–	–	–	12	–		1
Total nations	8	8	10	12	12	12	12

Results[]

Keys

• a.e.t. – after extra time
• a.s.d.e.t. – after sudden death extra time

Ed.	Year	Hosts	Gold medal match			Bronze medal match
			Gold medalists	Score	Silver medalists	Bronze medalists	Score	Fourth place
1	1996	Atlanta	United States	2–1	China	Norway	2–0	Brazil
2	2000	Sydney	Norway	3–2 (a.s.d.e.t.)	United States	Germany	2–0	Brazil
3	2004	Athens	United States	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Brazil	Germany	1–0	Sweden
4	2008	Beijing	United States	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Brazil	Germany	2–0	Japan
5	2012	London	United States	2–1	Japan	Canada	1–0	France
6	2016	Rio de Janeiro	Germany	2–1	Sweden	Canada	2–1	Brazil
7	2020	Tokyo	Canada	1–1 (a.e.t.) 3–2 (p)	Sweden	United States	4–3	Australia
8	2024	Paris	TBD		TBD	TBD		TBD

Performances by countries[]