Federations push for more footballers in Paris

The national associations are pushing to avoid any cuts for the Olympic Games and to allow the final lists to be expanded to 22 players instead of the 18 set by FIFA for the Olympic Games.


The Olympic Games will be held in Paris from 24 July, with Spain and Argentina taking on Uzbekistan and Morocco respectively (both at 15:00 local time) in what will be the debut for both teams and the Olympic disciplines at the thirty-third modern Olympic Games.

The regulations state that each team can field a final squad of 18 players (3 of whom can be over 23 years of age), plus four additional players as reserves, who can only be called up in the event of a serious injury.

The federations are pushing for the 22 registered players (18 plus 4 reserves) to be allowed to take part in the Games, without having to discard four of the players who have already been called up or who can only be called up in the event of a serious injury.

The last Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020 (to be held in 2021), was the first to introduce the possibility of calling up to 22 players without having to make cuts, but this decision was made because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

France's players pose prior to the U23 friendly football match at Jean Dauger stadium in Bayonne, on 4 July 2024, in preparation for the Paris 2024. GETTY IMAGES
France's players pose prior to the U23 friendly football match at Jean Dauger stadium in Bayonne, on 4 July 2024, in preparation for the Paris 2024. GETTY IMAGES


Now, all the countries taking part in the tournament want to reintroduce this rule and are working together to put pressure on FIFA to allow them to field 22 players, although this permission could only be granted with the prior approval of the International Olympic Committee.

The Olympic Football Tournament consists of 16 teams divided into 4 groups of 4, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the tournament. The top two teams in each group will progress to the quarter-finals, with the winners progressing to the semi-finals to compete for the medals.

The semi-finals and the battle for the medals will take place on 5 August, the medal matches on 8 August (third place for the bronze medal) and the final on 9 August at the Parc des Princes starting at 18:00 French time.

Meanwhile, the women's championship kicks off on 25 July with Spain-Japan and Canada-New Zealand, both at 17:00. The third-place play-off is scheduled for 9 August (before the men's gold medal final), while the women's gold medal match is scheduled for 10 August at 17:00.


Groups:

GROUP A: France - United States - Guinea - New Zealand
GROUP B: Argentina - Morocco - Iraq - Ukraine
GROUP C: Uzbekistan - Spain - Egypt - Dominican Republic
GROUP D: Japan - Paraguay - Mali - Israel