THE FIRST WOMEN'S OLYMPIC FOOTBALL

1st August 1996 Women’s football finally found its place in World football with the final of the first Olympic Women’s Football Tournament - hosts USA beat China 2-1 in front of 76,489 to take gold. Do you know what is happening this time?

1996 Women's Olympic Football Tournament

Tournament details
Host country	United States
Dates	July 21 – August 1
Teams	8 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)	5 (in 5 host cities-BELOW)
Final positions
Champions	USA (1st title)
Runners-up	China
Third place	Norway
Fourth place	Brazil
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	53 (3.31 per match)
Attendance total	691,762 (43,235 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Pretinha  Ann Kristin Aarones  Linda Medalen (4 goals each)
Fair play award	USA

The qualification system for the inaugural women's football tournament was based on the results of the 1995 FIFA Womens' World Cup. Seven best teams and the host nation were qualified for the tournament. As the third-ranked United States team was already qualified as the host, its spot was passed down to the eighth-ranked team, Japan. England was ranked seventh, but due to it not being an IOC member, its "spot" was passed down to the ninth-ranked Brazil. 

• Asia (AFC)
  •  China
  •  Japan
• South America (CONMEBOL)
  •  Brazil
• Europe (UEFA)
  •  Denmark
  •  Germany
  •  Norway
  •  Sweden
• North and Central America (CONCACAF)
  •  United States – host nation

  • The tournament was held in five venues across five cities:

    • Sanford Stadium, Athens
    • Legion Field, Birmingham
    • Orange Bowl, Miami
    • Citrus Bowl, Orlando
    • Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C