Spread across six major grounds around the UK, the London 2012 Olympic Games Football competition promises plenty of excitement.
Key facts
Venues: City of Coventry Stadium, (Coventry); Hampden Park (Glasgow); Millennium Stadium (Cardiff); Old Trafford (Manchester); St James' Park (Newcastle); Wembley Stadium
Dates: Wednesday 25 July – Saturday 11 August
Medal events: 2
Athletes: 504 (288 men, 216 women; 16 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams).
Dates: Wednesday 25 July – Saturday 11 August
Medal events: 2
Athletes: 504 (288 men, 216 women; 16 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams).
Football will be a major feature of the Olympic programme at London 2012. Beginning with group matches and ending with a knockout phase, the competition will offer all the drama that fans have come to expect from major international tournaments. There will be two medal events at London 2012, one for men’s teams and one for women.
The basics
The aim of Football, to score more goals than the opposition, is both simple and universally known. Teams of 11 players compete across two 45-minutes halves, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide drawn matches during the knockout stages of the competition.
Due to the intense schedule, the Football competition actually kicks off two days before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony with the first group matches. At London 2012, the men’s competition will be an under-23s event, although each country will be allowed to include three older players in their team. There are no age restrictions for the women’s competition.
Both the men’s and women’s competitions will begin with a group stage. The teams will be divided into groups of four (three groups in the women’s tournament, four groups for the men), and the best eight teams will qualify for the quarter-finals. From here, the competitions are played to a knockout format: the two winning semi-finalists will play for the gold medal at Wembley, with the two losing semi-finalists facing off for the bronze.
Olympic Football, past and present
Football was introduced as a medal sport at the 1908 Olympic Games. Great Britain won the gold medal, then successfully defended their title four years later in Stockholm. The sport has featured at every Olympic Games since, with the exception of Los Angeles 1932.
The Football competition at London 2012 will be staged at six grounds around the UK, including venues in Wales (Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium) and Scotland (Hampden Park in Glasgow). The finals will take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
The aim of Football, to score more goals than the opposition, is both simple and universally known. Teams of 11 players compete across two 45-minutes halves, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide drawn matches during the knockout stages of the competition.
Due to the intense schedule, the Football competition actually kicks off two days before the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony with the first group matches. At London 2012, the men’s competition will be an under-23s event, although each country will be allowed to include three older players in their team. There are no age restrictions for the women’s competition.
Both the men’s and women’s competitions will begin with a group stage. The teams will be divided into groups of four (three groups in the women’s tournament, four groups for the men), and the best eight teams will qualify for the quarter-finals. From here, the competitions are played to a knockout format: the two winning semi-finalists will play for the gold medal at Wembley, with the two losing semi-finalists facing off for the bronze.
Olympic Football, past and present
Football was introduced as a medal sport at the 1908 Olympic Games. Great Britain won the gold medal, then successfully defended their title four years later in Stockholm. The sport has featured at every Olympic Games since, with the exception of Los Angeles 1932.
The Football competition at London 2012 will be staged at six grounds around the UK, including venues in Wales (Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium) and Scotland (Hampden Park in Glasgow). The finals will take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
Football
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