The History

The oldest international tournament in world football. A demonstration sport at the first ever 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. 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).

The Olympic Gold Medal Table

Hungary 3 - Soviet Union, Great Britain, Uruguay 2, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Poland, Spain, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Cameroon, France, Nigeria 1