Olympic Games

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Football / Soccer at the Olympics

Football was the first team sport added to the Olympics, in 1900
The 1932 Games was not supposed to include football as part of the programme, due to the low popularity of football in the United States. The world governing body for Football (FIFA) and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the Games. This led to FIFA organising their own World Cup, which was first held in 1930.
In 1984, in a compromise with FIFA, professional soccer players were allowed to compete, but only if they hadn't previously been part of a World Cup event.

In 1992, World Cup athletes were allowed to compete in soccer for the first time, but only three players over the age of 23 are allowed on each team. This effectively made the Olympic event an under-23 championship.
In 1996, the American women's teams won the first-ever women's soccer event.