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Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification

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Twelve teams are scheduled to compete in the women's football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics. In addition to France, the host nation, 11 women's national teams qualified from six separate continental confederations.

Table

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On 24 February 2022, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation for the 2024 Summer Olympics. In addition to the automatic qualification of the host nation France, each confederation was given two slots, with the exception of the OFC which was given one slot.[1]


Means of qualification Dates[a] Venue(s)[a] Berth(s) Qualified
Host nation 1  France
2022 CONCACAF W Championship 4–18 July 2022  Mexico 1  United States
2022 Copa América Femenina 8–30 July 2022  Colombia 2  Brazil
 Colombia
CONCACAF play-off 22–26 September 2023  Jamaica
 Canada
1  Canada
2024 OFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament 7–19 February 2024  Samoa 1  New Zealand
2024 UEFA Women's Nations League Finals 23–28 February 2024 Multiple 2  Spain
 Germany
2024 AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament 24–28 February 2024 Multiple 2  Australia
 Japan
2024 CAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament 5–9 April 2024 Multiple 2  Nigeria
 Zambia
Total   12  


Notes
  1. ^ a b Dates and venues are those of final tournaments (or final round of qualification tournaments); various qualification stages may precede these matches.

CONCACAF

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The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship was used as the first round of Olympic qualification. The winners of the tournament qualified directly to the Olympic tournament, while the teams finishing second and third competed in a play-off for the other qualification place.[2]

Qualification round

[edit]
Group A Group B Group C

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Mexico 4 12
2  Puerto Rico 4 9
3  Suriname 4 6
4  Antigua and Barbuda 4 3
5  Anguilla 4 0
Source: CONCACAF

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Costa Rica 4 12
2  Saint Kitts and Nevis 4 9
3  Guatemala 4 6
4  Curaçao 4 3
5  U.S. Virgin Islands 4 0
Source: CONCACAF

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Jamaica 4 12
2  Dominican Republic 4 9
3  Bermuda 4 6
4  Cayman Islands 4 3
5  Grenada 4 0
Source: CONCACAF
Group D Group E Group F

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Panama 4 12
2  El Salvador 4 9
3  Belize 4 4
4  Barbados 4 3
5  Aruba 4 1
Source: CONCACAF

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Haiti 4 12
2  Cuba 4 7
3  Honduras 4 7
4  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4 3
5  British Virgin Islands 4 0
Source: CONCACAF

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Trinidad and Tobago 4 10
2  Guyana 4 8
3  Nicaragua 4 7
4  Dominica 4 3
5  Turks and Caicos Islands 4 0
Source: CONCACAF

Final tournament

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Group stage

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Group A Group B

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  United States 3 9
2  Jamaica 3 6
3  Haiti 3 3
4  Mexico (H) 3 0
Source: CONCACAF
(H) Hosts

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Canada 3 9
2  Costa Rica 3 6
3  Panama 3 3
4  Trinidad and Tobago 3 0
Source: CONCACAF

Knockout stage

[edit]
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
14 July – San Nicolás de los Garza
 
 
 United States3
 
18 July – Guadalupe
 
 Costa Rica0
 
 United States1
 
14 July – San Nicolás de los Garza
 
 Canada0
 
 Canada3
 
 
 Jamaica0
 
Third place match
 
 
18 July – Guadalupe
 
 
 Costa Rica0
 
 
 Jamaica (a.e.t.)1

Play-off

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The play-off matches took place on 22 and 26 September 2023.[3]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Jamaica  1–4  Canada 0–2 1–2

CONMEBOL

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The finalists of the 2022 Copa América Femenina earned Olympic qualification places.[4]

Group stage

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Group A Group B
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Colombia (H) 4 12
2  Paraguay 4 9
3  Chile 4 6
4  Ecuador 4 3
5  Bolivia 4 0
Source: CONMEBOL
(H) Hosts
Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Brazil 4 12
2  Argentina 4 9
3  Venezuela 4 6
4  Uruguay 4 3
5  Peru 4 0
Source: CONMEBOL

Knockout stage

[edit]
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
25 July – Bucaramanga
 
 
 Colombia1
 
30 July – Bucaramanga
 
 Argentina0
 
 Colombia0
 
26 July – Bucaramanga
 
 Brazil1
 
 Brazil2
 
 
 Paraguay0
 
 
Fifth place match
 
  
 
24 July – Armenia
 
 
 Chile (p)1 (4)
 
 
 Venezuela1 (2)
 
 
Third place match
 
  
 
29 July – Armenia
 
 
 Argentina3
 
 
 Paraguay1
 

OFC

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Eight teams entered qualification and were drawn into two groups of four. The winners and runners-up from each group advanced to the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches played to determine the Oceanian representative to the 2024 Summer Olympics. The tournament took place from 7–19 February 2024 in Samoa.[5][6]

Group round

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Group A Group B

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Solomon Islands 3 7
2  Fiji 3 6
3  Papua New Guinea 3 4
4  American Samoa 3 0
Source: OFC

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  New Zealand 3 9
2  Samoa (H) 3 6
3  Tonga 3 3
4  Vanuatu 3 0
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts

Final round

[edit]
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
16 February 2024 – Apia
 
 
 Solomon Islands2
 
19 February 2024 – Apia
 
 Samoa0
 
 Solomon Islands1
 
16 February 2024 – Apia
 
 New Zealand11
 
 New Zealand7
 
 
 Fiji1
 

UEFA

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League A of the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League was used to determine the European nations for the Summer Olympics, with the top two eligible teams of the Finals (not including host France) qualifying for the Olympics.[7] This was a change in UEFA qualifying tournament from the previous Summer Olympics.[8]

Great Britain qualifying controversy

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As the British Home Nations do not have individual Olympic Associations, all being represented by the British Olympic Association, England (as the highest-ranked Home Nation) was selected to attempt qualification on behalf of Great Britain. Accordingly, Scotland and Wales (both also in League A; Northern Ireland was in League B) could not qualify for the Games, even if they had reached the Nations League A Finals.[9][10]

England and Scotland were both drawn into Group A1, having to meet twice; at the time of the draw this was considered strange and a conflict of interest. Further controversy arose from this arrangement ahead of the final matchday, with the two playing against each other and qualification undecided.[11][10][8]

Due to previous results and the system of tiebreakers, the deciding factor between whether England (and thus Great Britain) or the Netherlands would continue in the tournament, presuming both won their final match, was how many goals they would score. With England having to defeat Scotland by as many goals as possible to qualify a Great Britain team to the Olympics, some outside spectators suggested that Scotland may throw the game as this would benefit them (and they were already set to finish last in the group regardless of result). Other commenters believed that the teams would play properly but that the British Home Nations should not have been put in such a position.[11][8][12][13] England won the final match against Scotland 6–0, and, at the end of the match, were in a position to advance to the Nations League A Finals; in added time in the other match, the Netherlands scored twice to go ahead of England on overall goal difference and advanced instead,[10][14] before coming last in the Finals and not qualifying for the Olympics.[15]

The issue was seen to be caused by the Nations League's system and lack of prestige: England and Scotland had also been in the same group during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, which served as qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics (which Great Britain did achieve), with the draw and their performances not questioned due to having to play many other teams and because the World Cup is aspirational and Olympics qualification an afterthought in that situation.[8] The Nations League system had already been questioned as a means of qualifying when its use in ranking the play-offs for the men's Euro 2024 also presented a situation where a team had to lose to have a chance of qualifying (not involving the Home Nations).[12] Suzanne Wrack questioned if UEFA should prevent the Home Nations from being drawn into the same group in similar future situations, especially as it would be theoretically possible for a group of four teams to consist of all four Home Nations.[8] There was also some criticism due to England being the European champions and World Cup runners-up at the time, either of which could have automatically qualified Great Britain by previous qualifying metrics, and the situation would have been avoided.[16]

Andries Jonker, manager of the Netherlands, criticised the situation.[11][8] Players and staff from both teams considered suggestions of Scotland throwing the match to be rude and disrespectful; the teams have the oldest rivalry in football and it is a matter of national pride in both nations (though especially Scotland) when playing the other.[11][17][18][19]

Group round

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Group A1 Group A2

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Netherlands 6 12
2  England 6 12
3  Belgium (O) 6 8
4  Scotland (R) 6 2
Source: UEFA
(O) Play-off winners;
(R) Relegated

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  France 6 16
2  Austria 6 10
3  Norway (O) 6 5
4  Portugal (R) 6 3
Source: UEFA
(O) Play-off winners;
(R) Relegated
Group A3 Group A4

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Germany 6 13
2  Denmark 6 12
3  Iceland (O) 6 9
4  Wales (R) 6 1
Source: UEFA
(O) Play-off winners;
(R) Relegated

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Spain 6 15
2  Italy 6 10
3  Sweden (O) 6 7
4  Switzerland (R) 6 3
Source: UEFA
(O) Play-off winners;
(R) Relegated

Final round

[edit]
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
23 February 2024 – Seville
 
 
 Spain3
 
28 February 2024 – Seville
 
 Netherlands0
 
 Spain2
 
23 February 2024 – Décines-Charpieu
 
 France0
 
 France2
 
 
 Germany1
 
Third place play-off
 
 
28 February 2024 – Heerenveen
 
 
 Netherlands0
 
 
 Germany2

AFC

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Of the 47 national federations in the AFC, 31 entered teams into the competition.

The following teams qualified for the second round:

Participation in qualification second round
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1.  Australia (10)
  2.  Japan (11)
  3.  China (13)
  1.  Thailand (44)
  2.  Philippines (49)
  3.  Uzbekistan (50)
  1.  India (61)
  2.  Iran (67)
  3.  North Korea (NR)[a]

Second round

[edit]
Group A Group B Group C

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Australia (H) 3 9
2  Philippines 3 6
3  Iran 3 1
4  Chinese Taipei 3 1
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  North Korea 3 7
2  South Korea 3 5
3  China (H) 3 4
4  Thailand 3 0
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Japan 3 9
2  Uzbekistan (H) 3 6
3  Vietnam 3 3
4  India 3 0
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Group runners-up

Pos Team Pld Pts
1  Uzbekistan 3 6
2  Philippines 3 6
3  South Korea 3 5
Source: AFC

Third round

[edit]
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Uzbekistan  0–13  Australia 0–3 0–10
North Korea  1–2  Japan 0–0 1–2

CAF

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CAF qualification consisted of four rounds of home-and-away matches between July 2023 and April 2024 to determine the two teams which qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[23]

First round

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First round matches were held between 10–18 July 2023.

2024 CAF Women's Olympic qualifying tournament first round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Guinea-Bissau  4–5  Benin 2–2 2–3
Guinea  0–7  Ghana 0–3 0–4
Burkina Faso  2–3  Mali 0–1 2–2 (a.e.t.)
Ivory Coast  w/o[24]  Sierra Leone
Namibia  2–0  Equatorial Guinea 2–0 0–0
Uganda  4–3  Rwanda 3–3 1–0 (a.e.t.)
Ethiopia  10–0  Chad 6–0 4–0
Congo  w/o[25]  Tanzania
Mozambique  w/o[26]  DR Congo

Second round

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Second round matches were held between 23–31 October 2023.

2024 CAF Women's Olympic qualifying tournament second round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Benin  0–5  Ghana 0–3 0–2
Mali  w/o[27]  Zambia
Ivory Coast  w/o[28]  Tunisia
Namibia  0–4  Morocco 0–2 0–2
Uganda  2–3  Cameroon 2–0 0–3 (a.e.t.)
Ethiopia  1–5  Nigeria 1–1 0–4
Tanzania  3–0  Botswana 2–0 1–0
DR Congo  1–3  South Africa 1–1 0–2

Third round

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Third round matches were held between 23–28 February 2024.

2024 CAF Women's Olympic qualifying tournament third round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Ghana  3–4  Zambia 0–1 3–3
Tunisia  2–6  Morocco 1–2 1–4
Cameroon  0–1  Nigeria 0–0 0–1
Tanzania  0–4  South Africa 0–3 0–1

Fourth round

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Fourth round matches were held between 5–9 April 2024.

2024 CAF Women's Olympic qualifying tournament fourth round
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Zambia  3–2  Morocco 1–2 2–0 (a.e.t.)
Nigeria  1–0  South Africa 1–0 0–0

Notes

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  1. ^ North Korea had not played a match since March 2019 and were removed from the March 2023 rankings. FIFA Women's World Ranking Procedures, p. 4 "Teams that have not played at least one match during the last 48 months are deemed inactive and therefore not included in the ranking."

References

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  1. ^ "Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024 – information on preliminary competitions" (PDF). FIFA Circular Letter. No. 1792. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. ^ "CONCACAF to launch revamped W Championship and new W Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Canada to host crucial Paris 2024 Olympic Games Qualifier in Toronto". Canada Soccer. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Ajuste en el reglamento de la CONMEBOL Copa América Femenina – Colombia 2022" [Adjustment in the regulations of the CONMEBOL Copa América Femenina – Colombia 2022] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Draw confirmed for women's Olympic football tournament – Oceania qualifier". Oceania Football. Oceania Football Confederation. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  6. ^ "OFC Women's Olympic Qualifier 2024 Draw". YouTube. Oceania Football Confederation. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  7. ^ "How will the new UEFA women's national team competition system work?". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Wrack, Suzanne (2023-12-02). "Conflict of interest hangs over England's showdown with Scotland". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  9. ^ "How do you qualify for women's football in the Olympics?". Team GB. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b c "England rout of Scotland not enough for Great Britain Olympic women's soccer hopes". NBC Sports. 2023-12-05. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  11. ^ a b c d "England, Scotland and the 'strange' dilemma of Olympics qualification". The Independent. 2023-12-05. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  12. ^ a b "Lose and qualify? Why Great Britain's road to 2024 Olympics might go through Scotland". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  13. ^ Tomas, Fiona (4 December 2023). "To play in the Olympics, Scotland players must lose to England – that's a farce". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  14. ^ "El 'biscotto' británico que acabó en fracaso total". www.sport.es (in Spanish). 2023-12-06. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  15. ^ "Germany win Nations League play-off to reach Olympics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  16. ^ Garry, Tom (2023-12-06). "Where Lionesses' Olympic qualification campaign went wrong – and one silver lining". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  17. ^ "Ridiculous to suggest Scotland will be happy to lose - Bronze". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  18. ^ "Scotland will not 'give away' game for GB Olympic spot". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  19. ^ Garry, Tom (2023-12-04). "Scotland dismiss suggestions they could throw England game". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  20. ^ a b c "Stage set for Women's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 1 draw". the-afc.com. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024™ Asian Qualifiers - Round 2 Draw" (video). Asian Football Confederation. 18 May 2023. Event occurs at 9:00. Retrieved 2 November 2023 – via Youtube.
  22. ^ "AFC Competition Operations Manual (Edition 2023)" (PDF). Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  23. ^ "CAF® Women's Football Calendar 2023 – 2024" (PDF). CAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Préparation JO Paris 2024 : Les Éléphantes Pour Deux Matchs Amicaux En Algérie". Facebook. Fédération Ivoirienne de Football. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Les Diables rouges dames ne participeront plus aux éliminatoires des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024". Instagram. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Paris 2024 Olympics African Women qualifiers get underway". cafonline.com. CAF. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  27. ^ Dube, Godfrey (7 October 2023). "Shepolopolo through to 3rd round of Women's Olympic Qualifiers after Mali pulls out". News Diggers!. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  28. ^ "Communiqué" [Press release] (in French). 26 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.