Football was contested as part of the programme for the 1996 Summer Olympics which was hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, United States from July 20 to August 3, 1996. The women's competition was contested for the first time in Olympic history at these Games.
In the men's tournament, Nigeria defeated Argentina 3–2 in the final. In the women's tournament, the United States defeated China 2–1 in the final.
A number of firsts occurred during the 1996 Games. Alongside the first women's tournament, the games marked the first occasion in which the modern under-23 rules, allowing for the inclusion of three overaged players, were implemented in the men's tournament. Nigeria were the first African country to win gold and only the second African country overall to win a medal of any color in football. The United States were the first country from North America to win gold and together with China were the first countries from Asia and North America to win a medal of any color in football.
Venues The matches were spread around five venues in east and southeast United States. The gold medal matches were played at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.
AthensBirminghamMiamiSanford StadiumLegion FieldOrange BowlCapacity: 86,117Capacity: 81,700Capacity: 74,476OrlandoWashington, D.C.Citrus BowlRobert F. Kennedy StadiumCapacity: 65,000Capacity: 56,500
Overview Men's tournament
The 1996 Summer Olympics saw the modification of the under-23 rules for the men's football tournament. Teams were made up of players under the age of 23 with a maximum of three overage players allowed.
In the gold medal match, Nigeria defeated Argentina 3–2. In doing so, they became the first African country to win a gold medal in football, four years after Ghana became the first African team to win a medal of any colour. Brazil won bronze after a 5–0 win over Portugal.
Women's tournament
In the inaugural women's tournament, the United States won the gold medal after defeating China in the final. Despite football having been part of the Olympics since 1908, only teams from Europe and South America had won medals. As a result, the United States and China were the first countries from North America and Asia respectively to win medals in football. Norway won bronze after defeating Brazil 2–0.
Medal winners Men Men's footballEmmanuel BabayaroCelestine BabayaroTaribo WestNwankwo KanuUche OkechukwuEmmanuel AmunikeTijani BabangidaWilson OrumaTeslim FatusiJay-Jay OkochaVictor IkpebaAbiodun ObafemiGarba LawalDaniel AmokachiSunday OlisehKingsley ObiekwuMobi OparakuDosu JosephCarlos BossioRoberto AyalaJosé ChamotJavier ZanettiMatías AlmeydaRoberto SensiniClaudio LópezDiego SimeoneHernán CrespoAriel OrtegaHugo MoralesPablo CavalleroHéctor PinedaPablo PazChristian BassedasGustavo LópezMarcelo DelgadoMarcelo GallardoDidaZé MaríaAldairRonaldo GuiaroFlávio ConceiçãoRoberto CarlosBebetoAmaralRonaldoRivaldoSávioDanrleiNarcisoAndré LuizZé EliasMarcelinhoLuizãoJuninho
Women Women's footballBriana ScurryMary HarveyCindy ParlowCarla OverbeckTiffany RobertsBrandi ChastainStaci WilsonShannon MacMillanMia HammMichelle AkersJulie FoudyCarin GabarraKristine LillyJoy FawcettTisha VenturiniTiffeny MilbrettAmanda CromwellThori Staples BryanSaskia WebberZhong HonglianWang LipingFan YunjieYu HongqiXie HuilinZhao LihongWei HaiyingShui QingxiaSun WenLiu AilingSun QingmeiWen LirongLiu YingChen YufengShi GuihongGao HongZhang YanNiu LijieBente NordbyAgnete CarlsenGro EspesethNina Nymark AndersenMerete MyklebustHege RiiseAnne Nymark AndersenHeidi StøreMarianne PettersenLinda MedalenBrit SandauneReidun SethTina SvenssonTone HaugenTrine TangeraasAnn Kristin AarønesTone Gunn FrustølKjersti ThunIngrid Sternhoff
Match officials FIFA named 16 referees and 16 assistant referees to be shared between the men's and women's tournaments.
+ Referees Confederation RefereeMale officialsAFCOmer Al Mehannah (Saudi Arabia)Pirom Un-prasert (Thailand)CAFGamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)Lucien Bouchardeau (Niger)CONCACAFBenito Archundia (Mexico)Esfandiar Baharmast (United States)CONMEBOLAntônio Pereira (Brazil)Roberto Ruscio (Argentina)OFCEddie Lennie (Australia)UEFAPierluigi Collina (Italy)Hugh Dallas (Scotland)José María García-Aranda (Spain)Female officialsCONCACAFSonia Denoncourt (Canada)CONMEBOLCláudia Vasconcelos (Brazil)UEFAIngrid Jonsson (Sweden)Bente Ovedie Skogvang (Norway)
+ Assistant referees Confederation Assistant refereeMale officialsAFCJeon Young-hyun (South Korea)Mohamed Al-Musawi (Oman)CAFDramane Dante (Mali)Amir Osman Mohamed Hamid (Sudan)CONCACAFPeter Kelly (Trinidad and Tobago)Luis Fernando Torres Zúñiga (Costa Rica)CONMEBOLJorge Luis Arango (Colombia)Carlos Velázquez (Uruguay)OFCLencie Fred (Vanuatu)UEFAYuri Dupanov (Belarus)Heiner Neuenstein (Germany)Akif Uğurdur (Turkey)Female officialsCONCACAFJanice Gettemeyer (United States)María del Socorro Rodríguez (Mexico)UEFAGitte Holm (Denmark)Nelly Viennot (France)
External links
Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996 – Men, FIFA.com Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996 – Women, FIFA.com
References