Why do Olympic soccer teams need to be U-23?

tux_tina

Why do Olympic soccer teams need to be under the age of 23? Are there any exceptions about age restriction? Are there any differences between men and women?

Originally asked by Dor Cohen on Stack Exchange (sports) (CC BY-SA 3.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

Indeed Olympic football rules are different for men and women tournament and preliminary (qualifying) and final (Olympics) competitions: Men’s Tournament All players participating in the preliminary and final competitions of the Tournament shall be born on or after 1 January 1989. However, a maximum of three male players who do not meet this age limit may also be included in the official list of players for the finals competition. Women’s Tournament There are no age restrictions for the players participating in the women’s Tournament. Please note that the men over 23 can only play at the Olympic finals, not the preliminary or qualifying rounds. Source: Regulations of the Olympic Football...

Full answer by Dor Cohen: https://sports.stackexchange.com/a/1122 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

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