Football at the Games of the XXX Olympiad | |||||||||
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Event details | |||||||||
Games | 2012 Summer Olympics | ||||||||
Host country | United Kingdom | ||||||||
Dates | 25 July – 11 August 2012 | ||||||||
Venues | 6 (in 6 host cities) | ||||||||
Competitors | 467 from 24 nations | ||||||||
Men's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 16 (from 6 confederations) | ||||||||
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Women's tournament | |||||||||
Teams | 12 (from 6 confederations) | ||||||||
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Editions | |||||||||
← 2008 2016 → |
Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics | ||
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Qualification | ||
men | women | |
Tournament | ||
men | women | |
Squads | ||
men | women | |
The association football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from 25 July to 11 August, and was the only sport to begin before the official opening day of the Olympic Games, two days before the opening ceremony. It was also the only sport to be held at multiple venues outside London (the host city of the Olympics), with Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Coventry and Cardiff all hosting matches. The finals were played at Wembley Stadium. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their senior women's and men's under-23 national teams to participate; men's teams were allowed to augment their squads with three players over the age of 23. Five hundred and four football players competed for two sets of gold medals. [1]
For these games, the men competed in a 16-team tournament and the women in a 12-team tournament. The draw for the tournament took place on 24 April 2012. [2]
There were six stadiums that hosted matches: [3] The stadiums represent London itself and South East England, the English Midlands, North West England and North East England in England, as well as Scotland and Wales.
London | Football at the 2012 Summer Olympics (the United Kingdom) | Manchester | |
---|---|---|---|
Wembley Stadium | Old Trafford | ||
Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 76,212 | ||
Cardiff | Newcastle upon Tyne | ||
Millennium Stadium | St. James' Park | ||
Capacity: 74,500 | Capacity: 52,387 | ||
Glasgow | Coventry | ||
Hampden Park | Ricoh Arena | ||
Capacity: 52,103 | Capacity: 32,500 | ||
NOTE: The Ricoh Arena was known as the City of Coventry Stadium due to the no-commercialization policy.
GS | Group stage | QF | Quarter-finals | SF | Semi-finals | B | Bronze medal match | F | Final |
Event↓/Date → | Wed 25 | Thu 26 | Fri 27 | Sat 28 | Sun 29 | Mon 30 | Tue 31 | Wed 1 | Thu 2 | Fri 3 | Sat 4 | Sun 5 | Mon 6 | Tue 7 | Wed 8 | Thu 9 | Fri 10 | Sat 11 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | GS | GS | GS | QF | SF | B | F | ||||||||||||
Women | GS | GS | GS | QF | SF | B | F |
Means of qualification | Date of completion | Venue 1 | Berths [4] | Qualified | Senior team FIFA Ranking 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Host nation | – | 1 | Great Britain | 4 3 | |
AFC Preliminary Competition | 29 March 2012 | Various (home and away) | 3 | Japan South Korea United Arab Emirates | 20 28 87 |
CAF Preliminary Competition | 10 December 2011 | Morocco | 3 | Gabon Morocco Egypt | 45 71 42 |
CONCACAF Preliminary Competition | 2 April 2012 | United States | 2 | Mexico Honduras | 19 63 |
CONMEBOL Preliminary Competition | 12 February 2011 | Peru | 2 | Brazil Uruguay | 11 3 |
OFC Preliminary Competition | 25 March 2012 | New Zealand | 1 | New Zealand | 95 |
UEFA Preliminary Competition | 25 June 2011 | Denmark | 3 | Spain Switzerland Belarus | 1 21 77 |
AFC–CAF play-off | 23 April 2012 | Great Britain [5] | 1 | Senegal | 61 |
Total | 16 |
Means of qualification | Date of completion | Venue 1 | Berths | Qualified | FIFA Ranking 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Host nation | – | 1 | Great Britain | 9 2 | |
AFC Preliminary Competition | 11 September 2011 | China [6] | 2 | Japan North Korea | 3 8 |
CAF Preliminary Competition | 22 October 2011 [7] | – | 2 | Cameroon South Africa | 50 61 |
CONCACAF Preliminary Competition | 29 January 2012 | Canada [8] | 2 | United States Canada | 1 7 |
CONMEBOL Preliminary Competition | 21 November 2010 | Ecuador | 2 | Brazil Colombia | 5 28 |
OFC Preliminary Competition | 4 April 2012 | – | 1 | New Zealand | 23 |
(UEFA) 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup | 17 July 2011 | Germany | 2 | Sweden France | 4 6 |
Total | 12 |
A men's football team representing Great Britain competed in the Olympics until 1972, albeit failing to qualify for the main tournament after 1960. After the Football Association abolished the distinction between amateur and professionals, a ruling that came into force in 1974, Great Britain did not subsequently attempt to qualify in football, although after the rules on Olympic eligibility were relaxed in 1984, they would have been permitted to do so.
On 24 August 2008, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that the presence of a GB team at the 2012 games was "vital". [9] He said that he had approached Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to coach such a team. [9] The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations opposed such a move in case it would affect their status within the governing body of football, FIFA. [9]
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. [10] [11]
However, Britain's FIFA Vice-president Jim Boyce stated that Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Craig Bellamy, Charlie Adam and other non-English players would have the legal right to be considered for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. The deal among the four "home nations" was challenged by the British Olympic Association. Boyce said there was no legal restriction as to why a player from Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland could be stopped from playing. [12]
Ultimately, five Welsh players were included in the 2012 Great Britain Olympic football squad, with Ryan Giggs – included as one of the three players over the age of 23 permitted – selected as team captain. [13] Giggs would score during the tournament, in a 3–1 defeat of the United Arab Emirates at Wembley. [14] None of the Great Britain men's football squad came from Scotland or Northern Ireland.
This tournament differs from other modern major international football tournaments, in that head-to-head records is not the primary way to break ties.
The ranking of the teams in each group shall be determined as follows: [15]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Great Britain (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | |
3 | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
4 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 1 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | Gabon | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 | |
4 | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 1 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | Egypt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
3 | Belarus | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | |
4 | New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | Honduras | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | Morocco | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
4 | Spain | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 |
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Gold medal match | ||||||||
4 August – Cardiff | ||||||||||
Great Britain | 1 (4) | |||||||||
7 August – Manchester | ||||||||||
South Korea (p) | 1 (5) | |||||||||
South Korea | 0 | |||||||||
4 August – Newcastle | ||||||||||
Brazil | 3 | |||||||||
Brazil | 3 | |||||||||
11 August – London | ||||||||||
Honduras | 2 | |||||||||
Brazil | 1 | |||||||||
4 August – London | ||||||||||
Mexico | 2 | |||||||||
Mexico (a.e.t.) | 4 | |||||||||
7 August – London | ||||||||||
Senegal | 2 | |||||||||
Mexico | 3 | |||||||||
4 August – Manchester | ||||||||||
Japan | 1 | Bronze medal match | ||||||||
Japan | 3 | |||||||||
10 August – Cardiff | ||||||||||
Egypt | 0 | |||||||||
South Korea | 2 | |||||||||
Japan | 0 | |||||||||
The same restrictions used for recent Olympiads are applied, in which each squad is to consist of eighteen players, of which no more than three may be over the age of 23 before the beginning of the next year. In the case of the 2012 Summer Olympics, this restricts players born before 1 January 1989. [16]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Great Britain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 | Qualified for the quarter-finals |
2 | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | |
3 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
4 | Cameroon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sweden | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | Qualified for the quarter-finals |
2 | Japan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | Canada | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | |
4 | South Africa | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 1 |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 9 | Qualified for the quarter-finals |
2 | France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 | |
3 | North Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 3 | |
4 | Colombia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Gold medal match | ||||||||||||
E1 | Great Britain | 0 | ||||||||||||
F3 | Canada | 2 | ||||||||||||
F3 | Canada | 3 | ||||||||||||
G1 | United States (aet) | 4 | ||||||||||||
G1 | United States | 2 | ||||||||||||
E3 | New Zealand | 0 | ||||||||||||
G1 | United States | 2 | ||||||||||||
F2 | Japan | 1 | ||||||||||||
F1 | Sweden | 1 | ||||||||||||
G2 | France | 2 | ||||||||||||
G2 | France | 1 | Bronze medal match | |||||||||||
F2 | Japan | 2 | ||||||||||||
E2 | Brazil | 0 | F3 | Canada | 1 | |||||||||
F2 | Japan | 2 | G2 | France | 0 |
There were no age restrictions in the women's tournament. [17]
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mexico | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
3 | Brazil | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Japan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
5 | Canada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
South Korea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (6 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
After South Korea defeated Japan in the Bronze Medal match at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 10 August, South Korean player Park Jong-woo walked around the field holding a banner with a message written in Korean, "독도는 우리 땅!" (dokdo neun uri ttang lit. "Dokdo is our territory!). [18] As both IOC and FIFA statutes prohibit any political statements being made by athletes at their respective sporting events, the IOC barred Park from the bronze medal ceremony and did not permit him to receive his medal. [19] [20] In addition, it asked FIFA to discipline Park, and stated that it may decide on further sanctions at a later date. [21] [22] FIFA failed to reach a conclusion on the case at a meeting at its Zürich headquarters held on 5 October, and the disciplinary committee discussed the case again on the following week, [23] then failed to reach a verdict again. The case was heard again by the committee on 20 November, [24] and FIFA decided on 3 December to suspend Park for two matches after he was considered to have breached the FIFA Disciplinary Code and the Regulations of the Olympic Football Tournaments. FIFA also imposed a warning on the Korea Football Association and reminded it of its obligation to properly instruct its players on all the pertinent rules and applicable regulations before the start of any competition, in order to avoid such incident in the future. The Korea Football Association was warned that should incidents of such nature occur again in the future, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may impose harsher sanctions on the Korea Football Association. [25]
Iran's women's team [26] and three Jordanian players were banned during the second round of the Asian qualification tournament due to not adhering to FIFA dress code; the players were allowed to play while covering their head in the first round.[ citation needed ] FIFA banned the hijab in 2007, [27] although FIFA now allows the hijab to be worn after overturning the 2007 decision in 2012. [28]
Following the South Korean flag being put on display, instead of the correct North Korean flag, on the stadium screen at Hampden Park when the teams were being announced before the Colombia versus North Korea women's match, the North Korea team protested against this action by refusing to take to the pitch. The kick-off was delayed by over an hour while the mistake was being corrected. [29]
During the semi-final match between Canada and the United States, a time-wasting call was made against the Canadian goalkeeper, Erin McLeod, when she held the ball longer than the allowed six seconds. This violation is called in international play, and is intended to be used during instances of time-wasting. [30] As a result, the American side was awarded an indirect free-kick in the box. On the ensuing play, Canada was penalized for a handball in the penalty box, with the American team being awarded a penalty kick, which Abby Wambach converted to tie the game at 3–3. The Americans went on to win the match in extra time, advancing to the gold medal game. [31] [32] After the match, Canada forward Christine Sinclair stated, "the ref decided the result before the game started." FIFA responded by stating that the refereeing decisions were correct and saying it was considering disciplinary action against Sinclair, but that any disciplinary action would be postponed until after the end of the tournament. [33] [34] [35]
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The United Kingdom national football team are a football team that represents the United Kingdom. Despite football being the most popular sport in the country, the team has not played since 1965, as separate teams represent each home nation in all major international football tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, as well as various friendlies. It is the home nations which are FIFA affiliated and not the United Kingdom as a whole.
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea women's national football team represents North Korea in international women's football.
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The Great Britain Olympic football team is the men's football team that represents the United Kingdom at the Summer Olympic Games. The team is organised by the Football Association as the men's footballing representative of the British Olympic Association. The team only competes in the Olympic Games. In other international football tournaments, the Home Nations of the United Kingdom are represented by their own national teams, a situation which pre-dated the establishment of a GB team.
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Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation and the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB. British athletes have competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, alongside Australia, France and Greece, though Great Britain is the only one to have won at least one gold medal at all of them. London was the first city to host the Summer Olympics on three different occasions, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948. It was joined by Paris in 2024 and will be joined by Los Angeles in 2028 in hosting the Olympic Games for a third time. Team GB, organised by BOA, sent a total of 541 athletes, 279 men and 262 women, to the Games, and won automatic qualification places in all 26 sports.
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New Zealand competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twenty-fourth appearance at the Olympics. The New Zealand Olympic Committee sent 184 athletes, 97 men, and 87 women to the Games to compete in 16 sports, the nation's largest ever delegation.
South Korea competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Olympics, having missed the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States boycott. The Korean Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1992. A total of 248 athletes, 135 men and 113 women, competed in 22 sports.
Park Jong-woo is a South Korean football player who currently plays for Nongbua Pitchaya as a midfielder. He has previously played for the Chinese club Guangzhou R&F and also in the UAE Arabian Gulf League for Al Jazira and Emirates. He has represented South Korea at age group and senior level, including the Men's tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and was part of the South Korean squad for 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
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The women's football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was held from 25 July to 9 August 2012. The women's tournament was a full international tournament with no restrictions on age. The twelve national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 18 players, including two goalkeepers. Additionally, teams could name a maximum of four alternate players, numbered from 19 to 22. The alternate list could contain at most three outfielders, as at least one slot was reserved for a goalkeeper. In the event of serious injury during the tournament, an injured player could be replaced by one of the players in the alternate list. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.
A number of controversies and concerns associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics in London became the subject of public debate and media commentary.
The women's football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 21 July to 6 August 2021. Originally, it was to be held from 22 July to 7 August 2020, but the Summer Olympics were postponed to the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the official name of the games remains the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was the seventh edition of the women's Olympic football tournament. Together with the men's competition, the 2020 Summer Olympics football tournament was held at six stadiums in six cities in Japan. The final was hosted at the International Stadium in Yokohama. There were no player age restrictions for teams participating in the competition.
The women's football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan was held from 21 July to 6 August 2021. The women's tournament was a full international tournament with no restrictions on age. The twelve national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 18 players, including two goalkeepers. Additionally, teams could name a maximum of four alternate players, numbered from 19 to 22. The alternate list could contain at most three outfielders, as at least one slot was reserved for a goalkeeper. In the event of serious injury during the tournament, an injured player would be able to be replaced by one of the players in the alternate list. Only players in these squads were planned to be eligible to take part in the tournament. On 2 July, FIFA confirmed that there was a change for the 2020 Olympics, allowing all 22 players named to be available on the roster, with 18 being named for each match. This change was implemented due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The official squad lists were released by FIFA on 7 July 2021, with the athletes originally named as alternates assigned the numbers 19 through 22. The IOC also confirmed that a player must appear on at least one 18-player matchday roster to be considered an Olympian and to receive a medal.
Media related to Association football at the 2012 Summer Olympics at Wikimedia Commons