Football became an Olympic sport at the Paris 1900 Games, with women joining in at Atlanta 1996. In Rio, 16 countries will battle for the men’s title and 12 for the women’s gold medals. Matches are played in seven stadiums across the country.
Aim of the game
Two teams of 11 players must try to put the ball in their opponent’s goal, while defending their own. Only one player on each team, the goalkeeper, may touch the ball with their hands and arms
History
Association football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932 as a men’s competition sport. Women’s football was added to the official program in 1996.
Football was not included on the program at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, as international football was in its infancy at the time. However, sources claim that an unofficial football tournament was organized during the first competition, in which an Athens XI lost to a team representing Smyrna (Izmir), then part of the Ottoman Empire.[1] According to a source, this is an error which has been perpetuated in multiple texts. “[2]
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. Although the IOC considers the 1900 and 1904 tournaments to be official Olympic events, they are not recognized by FIFA; neither recognizes 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.
Interviews
Vera Pauw – South Africa Head Coach
https://youtu.be/EEDKjCoVfYA
