Football at the 2012 Summer OlympicsThe 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
is scheduled to be held in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and several other cities in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, from 25 July to 11 August. The finals will be played at
Wembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
. Associations affiliated with
FIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
are invited to send their full women's national teams and men's U-23 teams to participate. Men's teams are allowed to augment their squad with three players over the age of 23. 504 footballers are expected to compete for two sets of gold medals.
For these games, the men will compete in a 16-team tournament, and the women in a 12-team tournament. Football preliminaries will actually commence two days before the Opening Ceremony of the Games on 27 July. The draw for the tournament will take place on 24 April 2012.
Squad restrictions for men's competition
The same restrictions used for recent
OlympiadAn Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Olympic Games of Classical Greece. In the Hellenistic period, beginning with Ephorus, Olympiads were used as calendar epoch....
s are applied, in which each squad is to consist of eighteen players, of which no more than three may be born before 1 January 1989.
United Kingdom teams
On 24 August 2008,
British Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
caused controversy when he suggested that there should be men and women's UK football teams at the 2012 games. He said that he had approached
Manchester UnitedManchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
manager
Alex FergusonSir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
to coach such a team. The
ScottishThe Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
,
WelshThe Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football in Wales. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB.Established in 1876 , it is the third-oldest national association in the world, and is one of the four associations The Football Association of Wales (FAW) is the...
and
Northern IrishThe Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...
football associations opposed such a move in case it would affect their status within the governing body of football,
FIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
.
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.
But
Gareth BaleGareth Frank Bale is a Welsh footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Wales national team. Bale began his professional career with Southampton in 2005 and was transferred to Tottenham two years later...
,
Aaron RamseyAaron James Ramsey is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for the premier league club Arsenal and is the captain of the Wales national football team...
and other non-English players will have the legal right to be considered for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics, Britain's Fifa Vice-President
Jim BoyceJim Boyce is the current Vice-President of FIFA. He took the role in June 2011 after the departure of Jack Warner, who resigned after allegations of corruption. He is the life president of Northern Ireland's football organising body, the IFA.Boyce played for Ballymena Cricket Club during the 1970s...
has admitted. The deal among the four home nations is being challenged by the British Olympic Association. Boyce, who takes over his new role in June 2011, said there was no legal restriction as to why a player from Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland could be stopped from playing. "If a young player wants to be selected then legally I don't see how he could be prevented from playing. I just hope it won't come to that," he said.
Women
| Competition | Expected date of completion | | Berths | Qualified |
| Host Nation |
|
— |
1 |
|
| AFC Preliminary Competition |
11 September 2011 |
|
2 |
|
| CAF Preliminary Competition |
22 October 2011 |
— |
2 |
|
| CONCACAF Preliminary Competition |
29 January 2012 |
 CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
|
2 |
|
| CONMEBOL Preliminary Competition The 2010 South American Women's Football Championship was the sixth edition of the South American Women's Football Championship, and acted as a qualifier for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics...
|
21 November 2010 |
|
2 |
|
| OFC Preliminary Competition 2012 OFC Women's Pre-Olympic Football Tournament will be the qualifying tournament to the competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for the member nations of the Oceania Football Confederation . The participating nations and venue has yet to be announced.-External links:*...
|
2012 |
|
1 |
|
(UEFAThe Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
) 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup |
17 July 2011 |
|
2 |
|
| TOTAL | | 12 | |
Locations are those of final tournaments, various qualification stages may precede matches at these specific venues.
Venues
Currently, there are six stadiums that will host matches: The stadiums represent London itself and Southeast England, the
English MidlandsThe Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, Northwest England, Northeast England,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
| City |
Stadium |
Capacity |
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
|
Wembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
|
90,000 |
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
|
Old Trafford Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
|
76,212 |
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
|
Millennium StadiumThe Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
|
74,500 |
NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
|
St James' ParkSt James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...
|
52,387 |
| Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
|
Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
|
52,103 |
CoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
|
City of Coventry StadiumThe Ricoh Arena , home to Coventry City F.C., is a stadium complex situated in the Rowleys Green district of the city of Coventry, England containing a 32,609 seater football stadium, a 6,000 square-metre exhibition hall, a hotel, a leisure club, and a casino...
|
32,609 |
The Great Britain men's team will play at Old Trafford (26 July), Wembley (29 July) and Cardiff (1 August). The women's team will play at Cardiff (25 and 28 July) and Wembley (31 July).
Controversies
Iran's women's team and three Jordanian players were banned at the second round of the Asian qualification tournament due to not adhereing to FIFA dress code; the players were allowed to play while covering their head in the first round. FIFA banned the
hijabThe word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
in 2007.