Football at the Olympics: Dates, venues, format, groups, wildcards, tournament history and favourites

Everything you need to know about Football at the Olympics in Paris.

Olympic Football Dates

When does Olympic Football take place in 2024?

The men's competition will get underway on Wednesday 24th July, 24 hours before the start of the women's tournament on Thursday 25th July.

Olympic football will take place over 18 days, with the men's gold medal match being played on Friday 9th August and the women's final being staged a day later on Saturday 10th August.

Olympic Football Events

There will be two events taking place at the 2024 Olympics, one for the men and another for the women.

The two winning teams will received gold medals, the runners-up silvers and the victors of the third/fourth place playoff will take home Olympic bronze.

Which teams will feature in the Men's Olympic Football competition?

16 men's teams have qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games:

• Argentina
• Dominican Republic
• Egypt
• France
• Guinea
• Iraq
• Israel
• Japan
• Mali
• Morocco
• New Zealand
• Paraguay
• Spain
• Ukraine
• United States
• Uzbekistan

Which teams will feature in the Women's Olympic Football competition?

12 women's teams have qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games:

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Colombia
• France
• Germany
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Nigeria
• Spain
• United States
• Zambia

2024 Football 'Wildcard' Picks

Five men's football stars who could feature at the Olympics as 'wildcards':

While Olympic Football is technically a competition for U23 players, each nation is allowed three ‘wildcards’ who are older.

Neymar famously starred for Brazil during the the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, alongside Thiago Silva, whilst the likes of Dani Alves, Luis Suarez and Andrea Pirlo have also featured in the past.

But which big name stars could be included in their respective nations' squads this summer?

We look at five of the sport's biggest names who could get the 'wildcard' call:

• Kylian Mbappe
• Mohamed Salah
• Christian Pulisic
• Hakim Ziyech
• Mykhailo Mudryk

Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid)

Kylian Mbappe is absolutely no stranger to grabbing the headlines.

The prolonged saga surrounding his future has finally reached a conclusion, but don't be too surprised if the new Real Madrid man is back under the spotlight, lining up for France on home soil as they look to capture the Gold medal in August.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

One of the biggest names on the planet, Mohamed Salah, could well be lining up for Egypt this summer.

Not the news that Liverpool fans will want to hear as they get set for life under new boss Arne Slot, but the African superstar would surely be licking his lips at the prospect of a Gold medal.

Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)

The former Chelsea man has been in terrific form since swapping London for Milan last summer, and his inclusion is a must if the United States are to harbour any realistic ambitions of capturing Gold in Paris.

Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea)

Much like their North African counterparts Egypt, the 2024 Olympic Games represents a massive opportunity for Morocco.

With a hugely-talented U23 squad, you sense that the 'wildcard' picks will be vital to their fortunes this summer, and Hakim Ziyech, on the back of an impressive loan spell with Galatasaray, could play a vitally important role in helping the the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists to make more history in Paris.

Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea)

By his own admission, Mykhailo Mudryk has endured a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge following his £88.5 million move 18 months ago.

So could the opportunity to play a key role in Ukraine's Olympic fortunes spark his club form into life? Absolutely.

The big question, just like the other players listed above, is whether their respective clubs would sanction a temporary exit.

2024 Football Men's Groups:

Group A:

1. France
2. United States
3. Guinea
4. New Zealand

Group B:

1. Argentina
2. Morocco
3. Iraq
4. Ukraine

Group C:

1. Uzbekistan
2. Spain
3. Egypt
4. Dominican Republic

Group D:

1. Japan
2. Paraguay
3. Mali
4. Israel

2024 Football Women's Groups:

Group A:

1. France
2. Colombia
3. Canada
4. New Zealand

Group B:

1. United States
2. Zambia
3. Germany
4. Australia

Group C:

1. Spain
2. Japan
3. Nigeria
4. Brazil

Why do Team GB not have a football team in the Olympics?

Team GB were represented by both a men's and women's team at the London Games in 2012, but the men haven't featured in the Olympic Games since then.

This stems from a dispute between the English FA and the three other home nations (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), whereby the three countries feel that they could risk their independence with both FIFA and UEFA by forming a British team.

Unlike the World Cup and European Championships, the Olympics are run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and there is fear, within Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, that a Men's Team GB Side would risk their independence for future events run by FIFA and UEFA.

Whilst Team GB were represented at the 2012 Games in London - the first time this had happened since the 1960s - this was a one-off decision given the fact that the games were being staged in the United Kingdom.

The English FA have often lobbied for a Team GB football team, and it was the same for 2024.

England's crowning as UEFA U21 champions secured Team GB of a spot in Paris, however, no agreement between the four home nations could be found, meaning the qualification spot instead went to tournament runners-up Spain.

Team GB's women's squad also competed at London 2012 but, unlike the men, they have been able to qualify for Games since, but fell short of securing a spot at the 2024 showpiece in agonising fashion, with a 95th minute goal for Netherlands, against Belgium, securing the Dutch of a spot at the Games at the expense of Team GB.

Olympic Football Venues

Seven French stadiums will play host to the 2024 Olympic football tournaments.

In addition to the Olympic host city of Paris (Parc des Princes), matches will also be played in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Saint-Etienne.

• Parc des Princes (Paris) - Capacity: 47,929
• Stade de Bordeaux (Bordeaux) - Capacity: 42,115
• Stade de Lyon (Lyon) - Capacity: 59,186
• Stade de Marseille (Marseille) - Capacity: 67,394
• Stade de la Beaujoire (Nantes) - Capacity: 35,322
• Stade de Nice (Nice) - Capacity: 36,178
• Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (Saint-Etienne) - Capacity: 41,965

Olympic Football Tournament Format

What is the structure of the Men's Olympic Football competition?

The 16 men's teams have been separated into four groups of four (Groups A, B, C and D).

The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, whereby the winners of those matches will progress to the semi-finals.

Each of the semi-final victors will take part in the Gold medal match, whilst the two losers will face-off in a Bronze Medal Match (3rd/4th place playoff).

What is the structure of the Women's Olympic Football competition?

There are four fewer teams in the women's competition, meaning that there will be just three groups of four teams (Groups A, B and C).

The top two in each of the three groups will advance to the quarter-finals along with the two best third place finishers.

The tournament will then play out to a conclusion in the same manner as the men's event, with semi-finals and medal matches following the four last eight encounters.

When was Football introduced at the Olympics?

Football was first included at the Olympic Games since 1900 and has since featured in all but one edition of the Summer spectacle.

The only occasion that the sport failed to make the cut at the Olympics was in 1932 when it was decided to exclude the event in an effort to enable FIFA to promote a new World Cup competition.

In order to avoid competition with the World Cup, FIFA have since restricted participation of elite players in the men's tournament in various ways.

At present, squads for the men's tournament are required to be composed of players under 23 years of age, with three permitted exceptions.

By contrast, the women's football tournament is a full senior-level international tournament, second in prestige only to the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Olympic Football Prize Money

Will footballers receive prize-money at the Olympic Games?

Unlike athletes participating in athletics and boxing at the 2024 Games, footballers will not receive prize-money for their efforts in Paris.

Olympic Football Medal Table

All-time Olympic Football Medal Record:

Table inclusive of both men's and women's events.

Nation:	Gold:	Silver:	Bronze:	Total:
United States	4	2	2	8
Hungary	3	1	1	5
Great Britain	3	0	0	3
Brazil	2	5	2	9
Argentina	2	2	0	4

In total, 22 different nations have captured gold medals in Olympic football history, whilst an additional 14 countries have picked up silver or bronze.

Olympic Football Favourites & Odds

Who are the favourites to win Olympic Gold in the men's football competition?

Who are the favourites to win Olympic Gold in the women's football competition?

Odds will display when markets are live.