The Summer Olympic Games will start on Friday, July 23 in Tokyo. The Olympic football tournament will have a men’s and women’s division with some high-calibre players taking to the pitches in Japan.

The men’s Olympic tournament was first introduced at the 1900 Summer Games. It has been played at each of the Summer Olympics with the only exception being the 1932 Los Angeles Games. The women’s tournament was not added to the program in 1996 in Atlanta and has been played ever since.

Olympic football tournament

The men’s tournament teams are only able to field under-24 players, so players born on or after Jan. 1, 1997. Teams can select a maximum of three players over 24. Due to the postponement of the Olympics last year, the age restrictions were increased from under-23 to under-24 on the men’s side. In comparison, the women’s side of the Olympic tournament does not have an age limit.

The tournament format for men will feature four groups of four teams. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The women’s tournament will have three groups of four. The top two teams from each group will go through to the next round along with the two best third-placed teams.

The defending champions on the men’s side are Brazil. The Brazilians have another strong team and will once again fancy their chances of winning gold. Brazil’s arch-rivals, Argentina, are looking to repeat their 2008 Olympic football success. European powerhouses France, Spain, and Germany are also aiming to win gold in Tokyo.

The women’s tournament favourites are once again the United States. Home team Japan and European powerhouse Sweden will give the Yanks plenty of issues at the tournament when they meet. Canada are another dark horse that could play well this summer. The US women’s team have won four gold medals at the Olympics.