The sport of football, or soccer to fans in the United States, returns to the south, along with the "nutmegs" and "bicycle kicks" that filled North America's vocabulary during the 1994 World Cup. In addition, a new phrase, "women's gold medal winners" will join the Olympic lexicon as females compete for the first time on the Olympic pitch.
With preliminary competition in Birmingham, Miami, Orlando and Washington, D.C. leading to the semifinals and finals in Athens, the world's most popular sport will once again become the "Sport of the South" as one of the most watched events of the Olympic Games. With its world-wide following, its no coincidence that football also is among the oldest of the Olympic team sports. Making its debut as an exhibition sport in 1896, football has been played in every Olympic Games with the exception of 1932. The passion evoked by the game has often resulted in intense and controversial moments for both players and fans during the sport's colorful Olympic history. Emotions still run high in the quest for the gold medal, but a new emphasis on sportsmanship, or "Fair Play," has helped return the joy of competition to the game.
As football increased in popularity, the sport's international governing body, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), established the World Cup as its own international championship. Beginning in 1930 and scheduled every four years on the even year before the Olympic Games, the World Cup fueled the international infatuation with the sport by allowing professional players to participate. Western European nations, which won most of the early Olympic medals, suddenly saw many of their top players giving up their Olympic eligibility to turn professional. As the lines between professionals and state-supported amateurs became harder to distinguish, Eastern European nations won every Olympic gold medal from 1952 to 1980. During the 1980s, FIFA attempted to correct the imbalance by making World Cup and World Cup qualifying players from Europe and South America ineligible to compete in the Olympic Games. The rule was adjusted to the under-23 rule in 1992, and amended again to allow nations to add three older and professionally experienced wild card players during the 1996 Games.
Currently not limited by the same eligibility rules, nations in the women's Olympic football tournament will enter squads similar to those participating in their first two highly successful World Cup championships. The women's sport has enjoyed a mercurial rise in popularity and participation over the past two decades, and should benefit even more from its new spot in the Olympic Games.
To arrive at the Games, the men's teams endured a series of continental championships with five teams qualifying from Europe, three teams each from Asia and Africa, two teams from South America, one team from North and Central America and the Caribbean and one team from a playoff between the second-place team from North America and the first-place team from Oceania. As the host country, the United States received an automatic spot in the 16-team field.
On the women's side, the host country and the top seven teams from the 1995 Women's World Cup tournament qualified for the Games. Like the men, the women's squads had to play through continental qualifying rounds to earn a spot at the World Cup championships and an eventual place in the Games.
In the Olympic Tournament, teams compete in round-robin groups with the women playing in two, four-team groups and the men playing in four groups of four teams. During round-robin play, teams earn 3 points for each win and 1 point for a tie. The top two teams from each group then advance to a single-elimination tournament, with the four semifinalists playing for the Olympic medals.
While the format for the tournament may be the same, the 1996 Olympic Games will also feature some new additions to the sport. For the first time at the Olympic Games, the "golden goal" will be in effect. Once teams reach the quarterfinal round for men or semifinal round for women, matches with a tie score after 90 minutes will play two 15-minute periods of extra time. The team scoring the first or "golden" goal in extra time wins the game. The sudden-death impact of the golden goal is a change from past tournaments that allowed the two teams to continue playing, regardless of goals scored, until the 30-minute extra time expired and a penalty-kick shootout determined the winner.
The traditional snap of the linesman's flag indication offsides and ball possession will receive a high-tech supplement for the first time at the Games. Linesmen will be in contact with the referee through a special wireless transmitter to assist in communications between the linesmen (now called referee's assistants) and the referee.
The first Olympic Games with a women's tournament will also be the first Olympic Games with female officials. Female referees and referee assistants will make their Olympic debut at the tournament after receiving favorable reviews at the 1995 Women's World Cup competition.
Even with some new technology and a few new rules, the game has changed very little over the past 100 years. Unlike the complex plays and strategies of the brand of American football usually played in Athens, Birmingham, Miami, Orlando and Washington, D.C, the laws and tactics of the international game remain simple. As a result, the world's favorite game could very well be the Olympic Games' favorite event.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard
Thomas.
| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |