The oldest and most traditional international tournament in world football. After serving as a demonstration sport at the first few Olympic Games, the football tournament of the Olympic Games reached its peak in the 1920s when the tournament must be regarded as the world championship of that time. However, with the introduction of a proper World Cup in 1930, the status of the tournament diminished. Especially, as only amateur players were allowed to participate, the tournament was for many years dominated by state amateurs from Eastern Europe. To counter this, and raise the status of Olympic football, professional players were allowed to participate in the 1980s, though subject to certain restrictions, first regarding prior World Cup experience (something that appears to have applied since at least 1960, also for the Eastern European countries) and then regarding player age (U23).
Gold Silver Bronze
---- ------ ------
1908 Great Britain Denmark Netherlands
1912 Great Britain Denmark Netherlands
1916 no Olympic Games due to World War I
1920 Belgium Spain Netherlands
1924 Uruguay Switzerland Sweden
1928 Uruguay Argentina Italy
1932 no Olympic football tournament
1936 Italy Austria Norway
1940 no Olympic Games due to World War II
1944 no Olympic Games due to World War II
1948 Sweden Yugoslavia Denmark
1952 Hungary Yugoslavia Sweden
1956 Soviet Union Yugoslavia Bulgaria
1960 Yugoslavia Denmark Hungary
1964 Hungary Czechoslovakia East Germany
1968 Hungary Bulgaria Japan
1972 Poland Hungary Soviet Union, East Germany
1976 East Germany Poland Soviet Union
1980 Czechoslovakia East Germany Soviet Union
1984 France Brazil Yugoslavia
1988 Soviet Union Brazil West Germany
1992 Spain Poland Ghana
1996 Nigeria Argentina Brazil
2000 Cameroon Spain Chile
2004 Argentina Paraguay Italy
2008 Argentina Nigeria Brazil
2012 Mexico Brazil South Korea
2016 Brazil Germany Nigeria
2020 Brazil Spain Mexico
2024 Spain France Morocco
Gold Silver Bronze Total
---- ------ ------ -----
1.Hungary 3 1 1 5
2.Brazil 2 3 2 7
3.Spain 2 3 5
4.Argentina 2 2 4
5.Soviet Union 2 3 5
6.Great Britain 2 2
Uruguay 2 2
8.Yugoslavia 1 3 1 5
9.Poland 1 2 3
10.East Germany 1 1 2 4
11.Nigeria 1 1 1 3
12.Czechoslovakia 1 1 2
France 1 1 2
14.Italy 1 2 3
Sweden 1 2 3
16.Mexico 1 1 2
17.Belgium 1 1
Cameroon 1 1
19.Denmark 3 1 4
20.Bulgaria 1 1 2
(West) Germany 1 1 2
22.Austria 1 1
Paraguay 1 1
Switzerland 1 1
25.Netherlands 3 3
26.Chile 1 1
Ghana 1 1
Japan 1 1
Morocco 1 1
Norway 1 1
South Korea 1 1
Total 26 26 27 79
NB: there were two bronze medalists in 1972
Final Third Place Match
1896 [Demonstration match in Athens, Greece] [1]
1900 [Demonstration matches in Paris, France] [1]
1904 [Demonstration matches in St. Louis, USA] [1]
1906 [Unofficial tournament in Athens, Greece] [1]
1908 Great Britain 2-0 Denmark Netherlands 2-0 Sweden
[Final tournament in London, England]
1912 Great Britain 4-2 Denmark Netherlands 9-0 Finland
[Final tournament in Stockholm, Sweden]
1916 no Olympic Games due to World War I
[Final tournament planned for Berlin, Germany]
1920 Belgium awd Czechoslovakia Spain 3-1 Netherlands [2]
[Final tournament in Antwerpen, Belgium]
1924 Uruguay 3-0 Switzerland Sweden 1-1 3-1 Netherlands
[Final tournament in Paris, France]
1928 Uruguay 1-1 2-1 Argentina Italy 11-3 Egypt
[Final tournament in Amsterdam, Netherlands]
1932 no Olympic football tournament
1936 Italy 2-1 Austria Norway 3-2 Poland
[Final tournament in Berlin, Germany]
1940 no Olympic Games due to World War II
[Final tournament planned for Tokyo, Japan before relocation to Helsinki, Finland]
1944 no Olympic Games due to World War II
[Final tournament planned for London, England]
1948 Sweden 3-1 Yugoslavia Denmark 5-3 Great Britain
[Final tournament in London, England]
1952 Hungary 2-0 Yugoslavia Sweden 2-0 West Germany
[Final tournament in Helsinki, Finland]
1956 Soviet Union 1-0 Yugoslavia Bulgaria 3-0 India
[Final tournament in Melbourne, Australia] [Qualifying]
1960 Yugoslavia 3-1 Denmark Hungary 2-1 Italy
[Final tournament in Rome, Italy] [Qualifying]
1964 Hungary 2-1 Czechoslovakia East Germany 3-1 Egypt
[Final tournament in Tokyo, Japan] [Qualifying]
1968 Hungary 4-1 Bulgaria Japan 2-0 Mexico
[Final tournament in Mexico City, Mexico] [Qualifying]
1972 Poland 2-1 Hungary Soviet Union 2-2 East Germany [3]
[Final tournament in Munich, West Germany] [Qualifying]
1976 East Germany 3-1 Poland Soviet Union 2-0 Brazil
[Final tournament in Montreal, Canada] [Qualifying]
1980 Czechoslovakia 1-0 East Germany Soviet Union 2-0 Yugoslavia
[Final tournament in Moscow, Soviet Union] [Qualifying]
1984 France 2-0 Brazil Yugoslavia 2-1 Italy
[Final tournament in Los Angeles, USA] [Qualifying]
1988 Soviet Union 2-1 Brazil [aet] West Germany 3-0 Italy
[Final tournament in Seoul, South Korea] [Qualifying]
1992 Spain 3-2 Poland Ghana 1-0 Australia
[Final tournament in Barcelona, Spain] [Qualifying]
1996 Nigeria 3-2 Argentina Brazil 5-0 Portugal
[Final tournament in Atlanta, USA] [Qualifying]
2000 Cameroon 2-2 Spain [aet, 5-3p] Chile 2-0 USA
[Final tournament in Sydney, Australia] [Qualifying]
2004 Argentina 1-0 Paraguay Italy 1-0 Iraq
[Final tournament in Athens, Greece] [Qualifying]
2008 Argentina 1-0 Nigeria Brazil 3-0 Belgium
[Final tournament in Beijing, China] [Qualifying]
2012 Mexico 2-1 Brazil South Korea 2-0 Japan
[Final tournament in London, England] [Qualifying]
2016 Brazil 1-1 Germany [aet, 5-4p] Nigeria 3-2 Honduras
[Final tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil] [Qualifying]
2021 Brazil 2-1 Spain [aet] Mexico 3-1 Japan
[Final tournament in Tokyo, Japan] [Qualifying]
2024 Spain 5-3 France [aet] Morocco 6-0 Egypt
[Final tournament in Paris, France] [Qualifying]
[1] None of these tournaments are considered official, and they are not counted in
the medals classification.
[2] Czechoslovakia left the pitch in the final against Belgium, with the score 2-0
for Belgium. The result stood, and Czechoslovakia were disqualified from the
tournament, so that they could not enter the competition for silver and bronze
medals (see the relevant tournament file).
[3] The bronze medal was shared.
1908 to 1956 Only amateur footballers were admitted. Professional footballers were excluded. 1960 Only those amateur players who had not been registered for the 16 squads qualified for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, were admitted. Professionals were excluded. 1964 Only amateurs could take part in the competition, while professionals were excluded. But all those players who had taken part in the preliminary or final matches of the 1962 World Cup, were excluded. This last particular qualification clause was not applicable to the representative amateur teams from the national associations of Africa and Asia. 1968 to 1976 Only amateurs were admitted. Professionals were excluded. 1980 Only amateurs were admitted, while professionals were excluded. But all those European and South American players who had participated in the 1978 World Cup matches (final stage and qualifiers), were excluded. 1984 For the first time, also the professional players were eligible for the Olympic Games. But with an exception: all those European and South American footballers who had taken part in previous World Cup matches (final phase and qualifiers) were automatically excluded. During the first rounds of the 1984 Olympic qualifiers, the rules were still under debate and that caused some misunderstandings about the employment of amateurs or professionals. 1988 The 1984 rules were maintained also for the 1988 edition, but with an additional paragraph: those European and South American footballers who had previously played less than 90 minutes in one single match of the World Cup, were eligible. 1992 The competition was reserved to all those footballers born on or after the day 01-08-1969. 1996 to 2024 The competition was open to Under-23 teams. But for the final phase, every team could add three "over age" players.
Thanks to Luca Gandini for eligibility rules (source: the official Circulars published by FIFA)
Prepared and maintained by Lars Aarhus for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Lars Aarhus
(lars@rsssf.no)
Last updated: 29 Aug 2024
(C) Copyright Lars Aarhus and RSSSF 1997/2024
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
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