Drawing of lots for the Olympic football competitions

• Drawing of lots for the Olympic football competitions (men's):
Group A: Cote D'Ivoire (A1), Argentina (A2), Australia (A3), Serbia (A4)
Group B: Netherlands (B1), Nigeria (B2), Japan (B3), USA (B4)
Group C: China (C1), New Zealand (C2), Brazil (C3), Belgium (C4)
Group D: Republic of Korea (D1), Cameroon (D2), Honduras (D3), Italy (D4)

• Drawing of lots for the Olympic football competitions (women's):
Group E: China (E1), Sweden (E2), Argentina (E3), Canada (E4)
Group F: DPRK (F1), Nigeria (F2), Germany (F3), Brazil (F4)
Group G: Norway (G1), USA (G2), Japan (G3), New Zealand (G4)


Group stage

The 16 teams taking part in the final competition shall be divided into four groups of four teams. The FIFA Organising Committee shall divide the teams into groups by seeding and drawing lots in public, whilst taking sporting and geographical factors into consideration as far as possible. The teams in the four groups shall be designated as follows:

Group A Group B Group C Group D
A1 B1 C1 D1
A2 B2 C2 D2
A3 B3 C3 D3
A4 B4 C4 D4


The system of play shall be a league system, each team playing one match against each of the other teams in the same group, with three points for a win, one point for a draw, and none for a defeat.

The ranking of the teams in each group shall be determined as follows:

a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;

b) goal difference in all group matches;

c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their ranking shall be determined as follows:

d) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches between the teams concerned;

e) goal difference resulting from all group matches between the teams concerned;

f) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;

g) fair play point system, in which the number of yellow and red cards each team has received is evaluated;

h) drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

The two teams ranked first and second in each group qualify for the quarter-finals.

The matches in the group stage shall be played in accordance with a schedule drawn up by the FIFA Organising Committee and BOCOG. The last two matches in each group shall be scheduled to kick off simultaneously.

Quarter-finals

The eight teams that advance from the quarter-finals as follows:

Winner A v. Runner-up B = Winner 1
Winner B v. Runner-up A = Winner 2
Winner C v. Runner-up D = Winner 3
Winner D v. Runner-up C = Winner 4

The matches shall be played in accordance with the knockout system.

Semi-finals
The winners of the quarter-finals shall contest the semi-finals as follows:

Winner 1 v. Winner 3
Winner 2 v. Winner 4

The matches shall be played in accordance with the knockout system.



Final and play-off for third place

1. The winners of the semi-finals qualify for the final.

2. The losers of the semi-finals contest the play-off for the third place.

3. If the play-off for the third place is not played directly preceding the final and is a draw after 90 minutes, extra time shall be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner. However, if the match is played directly preceding the final and is a draw after 90 minutes, no extra time shall be played and the winner shall be determined immediately by kicks from the penalty mark.

4. If the final is a draw after 90 minutes, extra time shall be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner.

Contest Duration

Each match lasts 90 minutes, divided in two periods of 45 minutes each, with an interval of 15 minutes in between.If a match in the knockout stages is a draw after 90 minutes, extra time shall be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) followed, if necessary, by kicks from the penalty mark to determine the winner.