2024 Olympic football tournaments - Paris

[Jackson Harrison]

I really like how they found a way to make that third place match very important, arguably more important than the final itself. Though unless France are in that final, it won't be the first time.

Also, this is much fairer and more accurate than doing it by way of the World Cup.

So UEFA will have to have extra time in 3rd place when qualifying to Olympics?

[Jackson Harrison]

Incidentally, FIFA is lobbying the IOC to expand the women's tournament to 16 teams for the 2028 Games in LA.

If the tournament is expanded to 16 teams, I would propose the following distribution of spots:
Hosts
World Cup winners (or runners-up if hosts win World Cup)
3 teams from Europe
2 teams each from Africa, Asia, North America, South America
1 team from Oceania
2 teams from playoffs, played by 8 teams (1 team from each confederation, plus 2 best teams from FIFA Rankings, maximum 1 team per confederation)

How can you have a maximum of 1 team per confederation with 8 teams and only 6 confederations, mate?

[amenina]

I really like how they found a way to make that third place match very important, arguably more important than the final itself. Though unless France are in that final, it won't be the first time.

Also, this is much fairer and more accurate than doing it by way of the World Cup.

So UEFA will have to have extra time in 3rd place when qualifying to Olympics?

Obviously we have to wait for the regulations, but most likely extra time will be played in the third place match if it is decisive for which team qualifies for the Olympics. But there is some scenario where the third place match is not decisive, e.g., if France reach the semi-finals.

Interestingly in the first edition of the men's Nations League, England and Switzerland had to play extra time (followed by penalties) in a 0-0 draw to decide third place. After that, UEFA removed extra time in the third place match for the next edition.

[amenina]

Incidentally, FIFA is lobbying the IOC to expand the women's tournament to 16 teams for the 2028 Games in LA.

If the tournament is expanded to 16 teams, I would propose the following distribution of spots:
Hosts
World Cup winners (or runners-up if hosts win World Cup)
3 teams from Europe
2 teams each from Africa, Asia, North America, South America
1 team from Oceania
2 teams from playoffs, played by 8 teams (1 team from each confederation, plus 2 best teams from FIFA Rankings, maximum 1 team per confederation)

How can you have a maximum of 1 team per confederation with 8 teams and only 6 confederations, mate?

I mean maximum 1 team per confederation for the 2 wildcard spot, so the two wildcards cannot come from the same confederation. Alternatively, I should make it clearer and say "maximum 2 team per confederation for the 8 teams in the playoffs".

And in last month's FIFA meeting, FIFA endorsed the expansion of the women's Olympic tournament from 12 to 16 teams. So it will be up to the IOC to decide if the tournament will be expanded starting from 2028.

https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organis ... sive-power

I think there will be a good chance since the next two Olympic hosts, USA and Australia, both have excellent support for women's football, so attendance will not be problem for the extra matches.

[amenina]

Stage set for Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 1 draw

https://www.the-afc.com/en/national/wom ... _draw.html

Kuala Lumpur: The race to represent Asia at the 2024 Paris Olympics will kick off with the official draw ceremony of the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 1 at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) House on January 12, 2023 at 3pm.

Since the inaugural edition, Asia’s best performances have come from China PR’s silver in 1996 followed by Japan repeating the feat in 2012. The 2024 edition of the contest will see Asian teams strive for a podium-finish for the third time.

Vying for the two coveted Asian slots of the prestigious tournament, Round 1 of the Qualifiers will see 26 teams, divided into five groups of four and two groups of three, compete in a one-round league format in a centralised venue from April 3 to 11, 2023.

The winners of each group in this round will then advance to Round 2 where they will be joined by the five highest seeded teams - DPR Korea, Japan, Australia, China PR, and Korea Republic.

The seeds for the Round 1 draw are based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking released on December 9, 2022, while the participants who do not feature in the ranking table are listed as non-ranked teams.

Four teams from Round 2 - three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up - then face off in Round 3 where they play two pairs of home and away matches with the two eventual winners qualifying for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Paris in 2024.

Based on their respective rankings, the 26 teams will have their names drawn from four seeding pots, as below:

Pot 1 (teams ranked 6-12): Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Philippines, India.
Pot 2 (13-19): Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nepal, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia
Pot 3 (20-26): Palestine, Singapore, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste.
Pot 4 (27-30 + 1 non-ranked team): Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan.

Watch the draw live: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nioieM8kDLE

𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐒

Women’s Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 is set to take off!

Apr 3 - 11, 2023

Which 7 group winners will advance to Round 2?



Match schedules: https://assets.the-afc.com/2024_Olympic ... edules.pdf

[amenina]

Africa: The u23 qualifying round 1 was completed during the international window. Here are the results:

https://int.soccerway.com/international ... nd/r71932/

Africa u23 qualifying round 2 was played over the last two weekends. Here are the results:

https://int.soccerway.com/international ... nd/r71933/

The final round of qualifying will be played next March. The ties are:
Niger vs Sudan
Nigeria vs Guinea
Egypt vs Zambia
South Africa vs Congo
DR Congo vs Ghana
Senegal be Mali
Gabon vs Cameroon

The seven winners will qualify for the final tournament to join the hosts Morocco.

In Africa U-23 qualifying, DR Congo were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player, and originally the two teams which were eliminated by them, Algeria and Ethiopia, were to play each other to decide who would advance to the final round, but Ethiopia decided not to participate, so Algeria will face Ghana in the final round of qualifying.

https://ghanasoccernet.com/afcon-u23-qu ... inal-round

[Jackson Harrison]

@amenina

Why had U23 AFCON retained 8 teams whilst U20 and U17 had been expanded to 12?

[amenina]

@amenina

Why had U23 AFCON retained 8 teams whilst U20 and U17 had been expanded to 12?

No idea, you have to ask CAF. Just like you have to ask UEFA why U21 have 16 teams, but U19 and U17 have or will have only 8 teams (assuming they will cut the size of U17 in 2025).

U23 AFCON is actually a relatively new tournament, starting only in 2011. Before that, African teams play home and away matches for all men’s Olympic qualifiers.

It also follows the Olympic cycle and is played every four years, unlike U20 and U17 which are played every two years. There are also no zonal quotas for the qualified teams.

Another problem is that many African players at the U23 level are already playing outside Africa, so getting them to play these Olympic qualifiers can be a hassle as clubs are not obliged to release them unless the matches are during a FIFA international window.

[Jackson Harrison]

@amenina

Why had U23 AFCON retained 8 teams whilst U20 and U17 had been expanded to 12?

No idea, you have to ask CAF. Just like you have to ask UEFA why U21 have 16 teams, but U19 and U17 have or will have only 8 teams (assuming they will cut the size of U17 in 2025).

U23 AFCON is actually a relatively new tournament, starting only in 2011. Before that, African teams play home and away matches for all men’s Olympic qualifiers.

It also follows the Olympic cycle and is played every four years, unlike U20 and U17 which are played every two years. There are also no zonal quotas for the qualified teams.

Another problem is that many African players at the U23 level are already playing outside Africa, so getting them to play these Olympic qualifiers can be a hassle as clubs are not obliged to release them unless the matches are during a FIFA international window.

They are under FIFA window aren't they?

[Jackson Harrison]

@amenina

Why had U23 AFCON retained 8 teams whilst U20 and U17 had been expanded to 12?

No idea, you have to ask CAF. Just like you have to ask UEFA why U21 have 16 teams, but U19 and U17 have or will have only 8 teams (assuming they will cut the size of U17 in 2025).

Don't think U17 is going to be cut with expanded U17 WC with 12 UEFA teams.

[amenina]

@amenina

Why had U23 AFCON retained 8 teams whilst U20 and U17 had been expanded to 12?

No idea, you have to ask CAF. Just like you have to ask UEFA why U21 have 16 teams, but U19 and U17 have or will have only 8 teams (assuming they will cut the size of U17 in 2025).

U23 AFCON is actually a relatively new tournament, starting only in 2011. Before that, African teams play home and away matches for all men’s Olympic qualifiers.

It also follows the Olympic cycle and is played every four years, unlike U20 and U17 which are played every two years. There are also no zonal quotas for the qualified teams.

Another problem is that many African players at the U23 level are already playing outside Africa, so getting them to play these Olympic qualifiers can be a hassle as clubs are not obliged to release them unless the matches are during a FIFA international window.

They are under FIFA window aren't they?

The third (and final) qualifying round for the final tournament will be played during the March international window.

As for the final tournament itself, we don’t know because the official dates have not been announced yet.

[Jackson Harrison]

No idea, you have to ask CAF. Just like you have to ask UEFA why U21 have 16 teams, but U19 and U17 have or will have only 8 teams (assuming they will cut the size of U17 in 2025).

U23 AFCON is actually a relatively new tournament, starting only in 2011. Before that, African teams play home and away matches for all men’s Olympic qualifiers.

It also follows the Olympic cycle and is played every four years, unlike U20 and U17 which are played every two years. There are also no zonal quotas for the qualified teams.

Another problem is that many African players at the U23 level are already playing outside Africa, so getting them to play these Olympic qualifiers can be a hassle as clubs are not obliged to release them unless the matches are during a FIFA international window.

They are under FIFA window aren't they?

The third (and final) qualifying round for the final tournament will be played during the March international window.

As for the final tournament itself, we don’t know because the official dates have not been announced yet.

June July in Morocco!

Is it me or is Morocco hosting event edition getting increasingly suspicious?

[amenina]

They are under FIFA window aren't they?

The third (and final) qualifying round for the final tournament will be played during the March international window.

As for the final tournament itself, we don’t know because the official dates have not been announced yet.

June July in Morocco!

Is it me or is Morocco hosting event edition getting increasingly suspicious?

The June/July date is not officially confirmed yet.

Out of all the African countries, Morocco is the most equipped to host international tournaments.

[Jackson Harrison]

The third (and final) qualifying round for the final tournament will be played during the March international window.

As for the final tournament itself, we don’t know because the official dates have not been announced yet.

June July in Morocco!

Is it me or is Morocco hosting event edition getting increasingly suspicious?

The June/July date is not officially confirmed yet.

Out of all the African countries, Morocco is the most equipped to host international tournaments.

But it means they get to auto-qualify. Is it true that Morocco is hosting WAFCON 2024? That's 2 in a row!

[amenina]

June July in Morocco!

Is it me or is Morocco hosting event edition getting increasingly suspicious?

The June/July date is not officially confirmed yet.

Out of all the African countries, Morocco is the most equipped to host international tournaments.

But it means they get to auto-qualify. Is it true that Morocco is hosting WAFCON 2024? That's 2 in a row!

I don’t know if it is official yet, but looks like Morocco will be hosting two in a row, because they are the only country to bid for WAFCON 2024.