The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
Football
While the modern game of football started with the foundation of the Football Association of England in 1863, its roots extend to opposite ends of the earth. The ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans played a similar game, long before English kings in the 1300s and 1400s were trying to outlaw the violent sport. [Full story]
Drawing of lots for the Olympic football competitions
• Drawing of lots for the Olympic football competitions (men's):
Group A: Cote D'Ivoire (A1), Argentina (A2), Australia (A3), Serbia (A4)
Group B: Netherlands (B1), Nigeria (B2), Japan (B3), USA (B4)
Group C: China (C1), New Zealand (C2), Brazil (C3), Belgium (C4)
Group D: Republic of Korea (D1), Cameroon (D2), Honduras (D3), Italy (D4)
• Drawing of lots for the Olympic football competitions (women's):
Group E: China (E1), Sweden (E2), Argentina (E3), Canada (E4)
Group F: DPRK (F1), Nigeria (F2), Germany (F3), Brazil (F4)
Group G: Norway (G1), USA (G2), Japan (G3), New Zealand (G4)
List of Events
On the program of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008
- • football Men
- • football Women
Athlete Quota:
Men 288 (16 teams x 18 players)
Women 216 (12 teams x 18 players)
TOTAL 504
Allocation
- TIMELINE
- MEN
- WOMEN
- SCHEDULE(M)
- SCHEDULE(W)
QUALIFICATION TIMELINE
| AFC preliminary competition: | |
| Men: | - First round: February 2007 - Second round: February 2007-June 2007 Third round: August 2007-November 2007, 3 groups of 4 teams. The 3 group winners qualify for the Olympic Football Tournament. |
| Women: | First round: 17-25 February 2007 |
| Second round: April 2007-August 2007, 2 groups of 4 teams. The 2 group winners qualify for the Olympic Football Tournament. | |
| CAF preliminary competition: | |
| Men: | - First round: September 2006-October 2006 - Second round: February 2007-March 2007 - Third round: June 2007-March 2008, 3 groups of 4 teams. The 3 group winners qualify for the Olympic Football Tournament. |
| Women: | - Preliminary round: October 2006-November 2006 - First round: February 2007-March 2007 - Second round: June 2007 - Third round: July 2007-March 2008, 4 teams. The winner qualifies for the Olympic Football Tournament. The runner-up plays off with CONMEBOL by end of March 2008. |
| CONCACAF preliminary competition: | |
| Men: | (Dates and sites to be confirmed) |
| Women: | (Dates and sites to be confirmed) |
| CONMEBOL preliminary competition: | |
| Men: | Brazil and Argentina,winners and runners-up respectively at the South American U-20 Championship in Paraguay in January 2007, became the first two teams to book their places at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament at Beijing 2008. |
| Women: | (Dates and sites to be confirmed) Play-off with CAF by end of March 2008 |
| OFC preliminary competition: | |
| Men: | March 2008 (Sites to be confirmed) |
| Women: | March 2008 (Sites to be confirmed) |
| UEFA preliminary competition: | |
| Men: | - European U-21 Championship 2006-2007 (tournament changed to odd years) - Preliminary round: March 2006-July 2006 - Group stage: August 2006-October 2006 - Final tournament: Netherlands, June 2007, 8 teams participating. |
| Women: | FIFA Women's World Cup, China, 10-30 September 2007. The top 3 European teams will qualify for the Olympic Football Tournament. |
| April 2008 | Confederations to complete preliminary competitions |
| May 2008 | Draw for the men's and women's Olympic football tournaments, Beijing 2008 |
| 23 July 2008 | Deadline for Beijing 2008 Organising Committee to receive entry forms submitted by NOCs |
Olympic Tournament for Men
The following teams are entitled to take part in the Olympic Tournament for Men:
Event |
Qualification |
Total |
| Host nation | The host nation directly qualifies a team and will not play in the preliminary competition-included in AFC allocation | (1 team) |
| Preliminary competitions | The remaining places will be allocated at the preliminary competitions organised by the relevant continental federations as follows: | |
| Asia (AFC) 4 teams qualify including host nation |
4 teams | |
| Africa (CAF) 3 teams qualify |
3 teams | |
| North and Central America (CONCACAF) 2 teams qualify |
2 teams | |
| South America (CONMEBOL) 2 teams qualify |
2 teams | |
| Oceania (OFC) 1 team qualifies |
1 team | |
| Europe (UEFA) 4 teams qualify |
4 teams | |
| Total (teams) | Men | 16 teams |
Olympic Tournament for Women
The following teams are entitled to take part in the Olympic Tournament for Women:
| Event | Qualification | Total |
| Host nation | The host nation directly qualifies a team and will not play in the preliminary competition-included in AFC allocation | (1 team) |
| The remaining places will be allocated at the preliminary competitions organised by the relevant continental federations as follows: | ||
| Asia (AFC) 3 teams qualify including host nation |
3 teams | |
| Africa (CAF) 1.5 teams qualify (play-off with CONMEBOL) |
1.5 teams | |
| North and Central America (CONCACAF) 2 teams qualify |
2 teams | |
| South America (CONMEBOL) 1.5 teams qualify (play-off with CAF) |
1.5 teams | |
| Oceania (OFC) 1 team qualifies |
1 team | |
| Europe (UEFA) 3 teams qualify |
3 teams | |
| Total | Women | 12 teams |
Match schedule (Men)
Date |
Match |
Time |
Venue |
Round 1 |
|||
August 7 |
Australia vs. Serbia |
17:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 7 |
Cote D'Ivoire vs. Argentina |
19:45 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 7 |
Japan vs. USA |
17:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 7 |
Netherlands vs. Nigeria |
19:45 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 7 |
Brazil vs. Belgium |
17:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 7 |
China vs. New Zealand |
19:45 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 7 |
Honduras vs. Italy |
17:00 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 7 |
Republic of Korea vs. Cameroon |
19:45 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
Round 2 |
|||
August 10 |
Argentina vs. Australia |
17:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 10 |
Serbia vs. Cote D'Ivoire |
19:45 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 10 |
Nigeria vs. Japan |
17:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 10 |
USA vs. Netherlands |
19:45 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 10 |
New Zealand vs. Brazil |
17:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 10 |
Belgium vs. China |
19:45 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 10 |
Cameroon vs. Honduras |
17:00 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 10 |
Italy vs. Republic of Korea |
19:45 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
Round 3 |
|||
August 13 |
Netherlands vs. Japan |
17:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 13 |
Nigeria vs. USA |
17:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
August 13 |
Republic of Korea vs. Honduras |
17:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 13 |
Cameroon vs. Italy |
17:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 13 |
Cote D'Ivoire vs. Australia |
19:45 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 13 |
Argentina vs. Serbia |
19:45 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
August 13 |
China vs. Brazil |
19:45 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 13 |
New Zealand vs. Belgium |
19:45 |
Shanghai Stadium |
Quarter-finals |
|||
August 16 |
C1 vs. D2 (Q3) |
18:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 16 |
D1 vs. C2 (Q4) |
18:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
August 16 |
A1 vs. B2 (Q1) |
21:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 16 |
B1 vs. A2(Q2) |
21:00 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
Semi-finals |
|||
August 19 |
Q2 vs. Q4 (S2) |
18:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 19 |
Q1 vs. Q3 (S1) |
21:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
Bronze medal match |
|||
August 22 |
S1 Loser vs. S2 Loser |
19:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
Final |
|||
August 22 |
S1 Winner vs. S2 Winner |
12:00 |
National Stadium |
Match schedule (Women)
Date |
Match |
Time |
Venue |
Round 1
|
|||
August 6 |
Argentina vs. Canada |
17:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
| August 6 | China vs. Sweden |
19:45 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 6 |
Germany vs. Brazil |
17:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 6 |
DPRK vs. Nigeria |
19:45 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 6 |
Japan vs. New Zealand |
17:00 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 6 |
Norway vs. USA |
19:45 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
Round 2 |
|||
August 9 |
Sweden vs. Argentina |
17:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 9 |
Canada vs. China |
19:45 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
| August 9 | Nigeria vs. Germany |
17:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 9 |
Brazil vs. DPRK |
19:45 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 9 |
USA vs. Japan |
17:00 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 9 |
New Zealand vs. Norway |
19:45 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
Round 3 |
|||
August 12 |
Nigeria vs. Brazil |
17:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
August 12 |
DPRK vs. Germany |
17:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 12 |
Sweden vs. Canada |
19:45 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
August 12 |
China vs. Argentina |
19:45 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 12 |
USA vs. New Zealand |
19:45 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
August 12 |
Norway vs. Japan |
19:45 |
Shanghai Stadium |
Quarter-finals |
|||
August 15 |
F1 vs. G2 (Q2) |
18:00 |
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium |
August 15 |
G1 vs. E3 or F3 (Q3) |
18:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 15 |
E1 vs. F3 or G3 (Q1) |
21:00 |
Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium |
August 15 |
E2 vs. F2 (Q4) |
21:00 |
Shenyang Olympic Stadium |
Semi-finals |
|||
August 18 |
Q2 vs. Q4 (S2) |
18:00 |
Shanghai Stadium |
August 18 |
Q1 vs. Q3 (S1) |
21:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
Bronze medal match |
|||
August 21 |
S1 Loser vs. S2 Loser |
18:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
Final |
|||
| August 21 | S1 Winner vs. S2 Winner |
21:00 |
Beijing Workers' Stadium |
Competition Venues
Hall of Fame
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