Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Football—the beautiful game
Also known to many as soccer, football has been part of every Games program since Berlin in 1936. Take a look at the range of Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Football tickets available on StubHub.
A consolidated history at the Games
Men’s football first graced the Games at Paris in 1900, where Great Britain won their first of three gold medals in the sport. The beautiful game was dropped from the program at Los Angeles in 1932 due to the sport’s main governing body fearing it would detract from the new-world tournament they launched just two years previously. However, it soon returned just four years later and has been a staple of the Games ever since. Eastern European sides dominated the postwar era, with the likes of Hungary, Soviet Union, Poland and Yugoslavia all taking the gold medal. But since the 1980s, the competition has opened up more, with nations from Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon), South and Central America (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico) and Western Europe (France, Spain) all emerging victorious. Women’s football was only introduced to the Games at Atlanta in 1996, and the United States has won all but two of the tournaments since. You can both buy and sell Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Football tickets on StubHub.
Thirty-two teams, seven venues, two gold medals
Seven different venues will be used for the men’s and women’s football at Tokyo, including the host city’s Tokyo Stadium, the International Stadium Yokohama and the Sapporo Dome. As always, the men’s teams will be largely restricted to the younger generation, with only three players born before January 1, 1997, allowed. All but two of the 16 teams have qualified, with reigning champions Brazil expected to defend their title against the likes of France, Spain and Argentina. There are no such age restrictions in the women’s game, where four places are still up for grabs. Germany, the gold medalists at Rio in 2016, have surprisingly failed to qualify, leaving Team USA as the hot favourites to reach the top of the podium for the fifth time. The women’s group stages kick off on July 22, just a day before the men’s, with the finals taking place on August 7 and 8, respectively. Check out the various Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Football tickets on StubHub. You can also purchase tickets for other team-based Games events such as Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Handball, Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Basketball and Tokyo Games in summer 2021: Hockey.
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