LA28 Men's Olympic Football shrinks to twelve teams

Shafaq News- Lausanne

The men’s football tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be reduced from 16 teams to 12, cutting Asia’s qualification places and ending the continent’s previous playoff route, the Olympic organizing committee reported on Sunday.

Asia will lose its allocation of three and a half qualification places, with only the champions and runners-up of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup securing automatic qualification for the Los Angeles Games.

The adjustment applies only to the men’s competition, while the women’s football tournament will continue with 16 participating teams.

Under the new allocation system, the United States will receive an automatic place as the host nation. Europe will have three spots, while Asia, Africa and South America will each receive two places. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and Oceania will each have one place.

Iraq has previously reached the Olympic football tournament five times, with its national team appearing at Moscow 1980, Seoul 1988, Athens 2004, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Paris 2024.