Football at the 1948 Summer Olympics — 1948 edition of the association football tournament during the Olympic Summer Games
Sweden won the 1948 Olympic football tournament, which was the first international football competition broadcast live on television.
Key Facts
- Tournament winner
- Sweden
- First TV broadcast
- First international football tournament broadcast on TV
- Broadcaster
- BBC Television Service
- Matches televised
- Semi-finals, bronze medal play-off, and final
- Notable trio debut
- First international appearance of Gre-No-Li
- Sweden's title significance
- Only senior male international football title for Sweden
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1948 Summer Olympics in London provided the context for the association football tournament, bringing together national amateur teams under FIFA and Olympic rules. Sweden fielded a talented squad that included the trio later known as Gre-No-Li, who were at the outset of careers that would make them stars in Italian football.
Sweden won the football tournament at the 1948 London Summer Olympics, defeating opponents across the competition. The semi-finals, bronze medal play-off, and final were all broadcast live in full on the BBC Television Service, making this the first international football tournament ever to be televised.
Sweden's victory remains their only senior male international football title. The Gre-No-Li trio — Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl, and Nils Liedholm — gained international recognition and subsequently moved to A.C. Milan, dominating Italian football in the 1950s. The television broadcast set a precedent for live coverage of international football tournaments.
Result
at London, United Kingdom