Football in the Summer Olympics has seen some of the best young talents take centre stage before becoming global superstars in senior football. The Olympics have set the stage for the future, be it Lionel Messi, Neymar or Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero.
However, the Olympics in its infancy did not have football as a core discipline and became an organised competition in 1908. Over the years, the tournament has changed from an amateur contest to an under-23 one for the men’s section.
Women’s football, however, has remained a senior competition since its inception in 1996.
Change in format of men’s football in Olympics
The Olympic Games featured countries fielding amateur players till the 1984 edition of the Games. Though the first edition of football in the Summer Olympics was in 1900, it was four years later, in London, that the contest became more organised.
As the FIFA World Cup began in 1930, the International Football Association (FIFA) looked to prioritise its own tournament over the Olympics. As a result, football was initially removed from the Olympics in 1932 but it returned four years later.
In the 1984 Olympics, with the International Olympic Association and FIFA at loggerheads, it was mutually decided that the teams from Europe (UEFA) and South America (CONMEBOL) would not field any player who had played in the World Cup.
Egypt midfielder Mohamed Hilme is tripped up by Costa Rica goalie Alejandro Gonzales as Costa Rica midfielder Evaristo Corondo watches in the second half of action at Standford University, California on July 31, 1984, during first round of Olympic football. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
In the next edition (1988), the rules were further changed, allowing players from the two federations – UEFA and CONMEBOL – to field any player who had played less than 90 minutes in a FIFA World Cup match.
Why is football an under-23 tournament in the Olympics?
Since women’s football has not undergone any rule change in the Games since its inception in 1996, only the men’s football tournament changes are discussed here.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics, FIFA and the IOC reached a middle ground where the tournament was made an under-23 contest – a format that has remained the same at the core since.
Four years later, the rule was slightly tweaked allowing three overage (over 23) players in the Olympics squad.
Ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games (which took place in 2021), there was a temporary change, allowing under-24 players instead of under-23 to consider players who had missed out on the games in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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