Football 2012 | ||
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Dates: | Wednesday, July 25 - Saturday, August 11 | |
Venues: | Multiple | |
Events: | 2: Men's and Women's | |
2012 Winners: | Mexico - Men's. USA - Women's. | |
Learn More: | Football |
Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London and several other cities in the United Kingdom, from 25 July to 11 August. The finals were played at Wembley Stadium. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 teams to participate. Men's teams were allowed to augment their squad with three players over the age of 23. 504 footballers competed for two sets of gold medals.
For these games, the men competed in a 16-team tournament, and the women in a 12-team tournament. Football preliminaries actually commenced two days before the Opening Ceremony of the Games on 27 July.
Schedule
Events
Men competed in a 16-team tournament with a total of 32 matches. The 16 teams were broken up into 4 groups (Groups A, B, C, D) of 4 teams each. The preliminary round of group matches began with each team in a group playing the other 3 teams in a group. The preliminary matches were scored on a point system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The 2 teams from each group that had the most points advanced, for a total of 8 teams advancing. The tournament continues with the quarterfinals, semifinals, bronze medal match, and gold medal match all determined by single elimination based on goals scored (or in the case of a tie penalty kicks).
Women competed in a 12-team tournament. The 12 teams were broken up into 3 groups (Groups E, F, G) of 4 teams each. The preliminary round of group matches began with each team in a group playing the other 3 teams in a group. The preliminary matches were scored on a point system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The 8 teams that had the most points advanced. The tournament continues with the quarterfinals, semifinals, bronze medal match, and gold medal match all determined by single elimination based on goals scored (or in the case of a tie penalty kicks).
Venues
- City of Coventry Stadium
- Hampden Park
- Millenium Stadium
- Old Trafford
- St. James' Park
- Wembley Stadium (finals)
Great Britain Team Controversy
On 24 August 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown caused controversy when he suggested that there should be men and women's UK football teams at the 2012 games. Historically, Great Britain's four home nations have combined athletic forces for the Olympics, but haven't fielded a football team in many years because England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland exist independently within the governing body of football, FIFA. Brown said that he had approached Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to coach such a team, but the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland football associations opposed such a move in case it would affect their status within FIFA. Another suggested solution was that the four teams should compete in a small tournament, with the victor earning the chance to represent Great Britain at the Olympics.
On 29 May 2009, after last-ditch talks prompted by a FIFA deadline to settle the row, the four associations sent a letter to FIFA stating that while the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish associations would not participate in a unified UK men's or women's teams at the Olympic Games, they would not prevent England from fielding teams under that banner. [1]
On 5 April 2011, Britain's sports minister Hugh Robertson urged the football associations of Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland to allow their players to join the English in representing Great Britain at the Olympics. He guranteed that their status within FIFA would go untarnished, saying that he "would hate to see for political reasons any young man or woman denied a chance to compete for their country." [2] If Robertson's insistence is effective, the greatest benefit to the team would arguably be the Welshman Gareth Bale.
Men's Qualifying
Means of Qualifaction | Expected Date of Completion | Venue | Berths | Qualified |
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Host Nation | Great Britain | |||
AFC | March 14 2012 | ????? | 3 |
South Korea Japan U.A.E |
CAF | December 10 2011 | Morocco | 3 |
Gabon Morocco Egypt |
CONCACAF | April 2 2012 | United States | 2 |
Mexico Hondurus |
CONMEBOL | February 12 2011 | Peru | 2 |
Brazil Uruguay |
OFC | March 25 2012 | New Zealand | 1 | New Zealand |
UEFA | June 25 2011 | Denmark | 3 |
Spain Switzerland Belarus |
AFC CAF Playoff | April 23 2012 | U.K | 1 | Sengal |
Total | 16 |
Womens Qualifying
Means of Qualification |
Expected Date of Completion |
Venues | Berths | Qualified |
---|---|---|---|---|
Host Nation | Great Britain | |||
AFC | September 11 2011 | China | 2 |
Japan North Korea |
CAF | October 22 2011 | 2 |
South Africa Cameroon | |
CONCACAF | January 29 2012 | Canada | 2 |
U.S.A Canada |
CONMEBOL | November 21 2011 | Ecuador | 2 |
Brazil Colombia |
OFC | April 4 2012 | Tonga | 1 | New Zealand |
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup (UEFA) |
July 17 2011 | Germany | 2 |
Sweden France |
Total | 12 |
Medalists
EVENT | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE |
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Men | Mexico | Brazil | South Korea |
Women | USA | Japan | Canada |