Summer Olympics: Men’s Football

The men’s football tournament at this summer’s Olympic Games will take place in Paris from 24 July to 9 August and will include France, Spain and the 2022 FIFA World Cup winners, Argentina.

Unlike the FIFA World Cup however, the Olympics are reserved for players in the Under-23 category (i.e., those born on or after 1 January 2001). As explained in our article on women’s football at the Olympics, no such restriction applies to the women’s tournament.

Despite this restriction, star players including Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí, Pedri and Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga, and Paris Saint-Germain’s Warren Zaïre-Emery (who has been included in France’s preliminary selection for the Olympics) are all eligible to represent their national teams.

Each national team is also allowed three overage players, meaning that Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappé could theoretically face off in a repeat of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. But which of those players might we actually see at the Olympics?

Per the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, clubs must allow players to represent their national teams during all international windows listed in FIFA’s international match calendar. For the men, that calendar does not include the Olympics. For the women, it does. 

Therefore, unlike for the FIFA World Cup (or any international tournaments organized by FIFA’s continental governing bodies), clubs aren’t obliged to release their players for the men’s Olympics.1

Given the increasing number of matches played at the top level, clubs will likely seek to avoid any unnecessary strain on their players. This will be a key factor in determining which players feature in the Olympics, especially since the UEFA Euro and the Copa América (for which clubs must release their players) end just ten days before the start of the Olympics.

Real Madrid have already confirmed that they will not allow their players to play in the Olympics, meaning France will be without Camavinga and Mbappé (given the latter’s highly anticipated move to the Spanish club).

Barcelona have stated that they will not allow their players to play in both the Olympics and the UEFA Euro, effectively confirming that its trio of young stars will also be absent from this summer’s Olympics. 

Although Real Sociedad and several Major League Soccer sides have previously suggested an openness to their players playing in the Olympics, any players wishing to play in the Olympics will ultimately need their club’s express permission to do so. 

While the Olympics may not provide the star-studded clashes one might expect from an international tournament, they present a fantastic opportunity for players like Michael Olise, who was surprisingly omitted from France’s UEFA Euro squad following his breakout season with Crystal Palace, to show their quality on the international stage.

As advocates for players at all stages of their careers, we are looking forward to seeing who will make the biggest mark at this summer’s Olympic Games.

Read our article on the women’s football tournament at the Olympics here.

Authors 

Donna Bartley
Partner

Marko Lavs
Trainee Solicitor