How does football work at the Olympic Games?
After the excitement of the Euros and a captivating Copa America tournament, attention now turns to Paris for the Summer Olympics. But how does Olympic football differ from other competitions?
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00:00The summer is packed with international football tournaments and the Olympic Games are right around the corner
00:06But how does Olympic football differ from other competitions and which players can we expect to see going for gold at Paris?
00:152024
00:20Hello and welcome to football now as the jam-packed summer of international football
00:25Continues all eyes are turning to Paris for the next installment
00:30Yes, the French capital is hosting the 2024 Olympic Games and football is very much on the agenda
00:37However, unlike some other tournaments that we've seen this summer Olympic football works a little differently
00:44Let's take a look at what you need to know
00:4716 teams compete in the men's competition at the Olympic Games and the squad rules are unique
00:53It is effectively an under-23 tournament with each nation only allowed to have three senior players in their team
01:00Aside from the host no nation is guaranteed a spot at the tournament
01:04This creates a scenario where some of the world's footballing superpowers fail to qualify while some less famous names feature instead
01:12It's a very interesting sort of concept, especially when it's sort of largely an under-23 tournament
01:17You have a small handful, I think it's three overage players that you can take to sort of complement that
01:23And obviously it's like a condensed kind of mini tournament where you do still have the group stage
01:28But the latter stages they're a bit smaller than a usual competition
01:31And I think, you know, there's something different about representing your country potentially for an Olympic gold medal
01:37The possibility certainly for a country like France, for example, as hosts for some of those players to win gold
01:43It's like a once-in-a-career opportunity and some players don't even get that opportunity throughout the course of their career
01:49So I think specific to France as well, coming into this summer, a lot of these players are looking at this as the opportunity of a lifetime
01:56You know, not only represent France in Olympic football and go for gold, but to do it on home soil, it doesn't come around very often
02:05Qualification is completed via region and is earned by competing in youth-level tournaments
02:10The first teams to qualify were the USA and the Dominican Republic, both of which did so way back in 2022 at the CONCACAF Under-20 Championships
02:19The bulk of the teams joined a year later, when seven nations qualified out of Europe, Africa and Australasia
02:26And finally in 2024, South America and Asia finalised their representatives, as well as Guinea, who defeated Indonesia in an AFC versus CAF playoff
02:38I think that one thing about the Olympic Games, which is very important, is there is that curiosity to discover new athletes, new footballers, new countries
02:48And not have only the best of the best, like the Champions League or like table football, like the World Cup
02:54I think it's refreshing and for me, you can't make only Olympic Games for the medals
03:00For me, the Olympics is like an atmosphere, a special event when you can discover a lot of things
03:06So for me, the qualification path is, I don't know if I can say perfect, but it's quite logical for the Olympic Games
03:15Yes, so due to those squad rules, players naturally are desperate to have that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of going for Olympic gold
03:24But unlike the World Cup and other tournaments such as the Euros and the Copa America, domestic clubs aren't actually obliged to release their star players for the Olympic Games
03:33It can create quite a bit of tension between a club who don't want their assets to get injured and players with big dreams
03:40We should be balanced in that opinion, because we can understand the players who see an incredible opportunity
03:47But we should understand as well, as it's not in the FIFA calendar, the position from the clubs
03:53You say, OK, we have a lot of games each year, there is the risk of injuries, but not only the injuries
03:59Because if they are going to the Olympics, they are not doing the preparations with the rest of the group
04:05And there is another thing, is that for some clubs, some players could make the Euros, then the Olympics
04:13And then start the new season with the club, which is a huge risk and not too much time to rest
04:19And to think about anything else than football, which is very important in the summer for the players
04:25So we should be balanced between, yeah, we understand the players, we understand the clubs, we understand the federation
04:31And it's not easy for everyone
04:33Well, one man who knows all about winning Olympic medals is former Nigeria captain Mikel John Obi
04:40He won bronze for his country back in 2012 and lists the achievements alongside winning the Champions League with Chelsea
04:47Mikel told us just what it means to win a medal for your nation at the Olympic Games
04:52Special, it's special, it's something that you don't feel how special it is until you actually do it
04:59And for me to win it at the back of winning the Champions League in 2012, and then I won the African Cup of Nations as well
05:05And for me, going into that tournament was a massive pressure because I was the leader of the team, pretty much
05:10I was like, how do I lead the team to win this tournament?
05:13And to then be able to do it at the back of winning the Champions League was something pretty special
05:17And that's something that once you do it with your national team, it's an amazing feeling
05:20It's tough, the likes of Drogba never won anything with the national team
05:23George Way never won anything with the national team
05:25So if you could do it, it's pretty special
05:28I will always rank the Nations Cup, my bronze medal with the Champions League trophies
05:33So for me, it's always special to win something with the national team
05:35The Olympics is a great opportunity for national pride and we are counting down the days until Paris 2024
05:43Let us know your thoughts using the hashtag FootballNowOlympics
05:47That's all we have time for from our studio here in Doha
05:50We'll be back next week with the Men's and Women's Olympic draw
05:54And to take a look at who could be in contention for the gold medal
05:58Bye for now
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