Football at the 1980 Summer Olympics — 1980 edition of the association football tournament during the Olympic Summer Games
The 1980 Olympic men's football tournament was contested amid a significant boycott, with seven qualified nations refusing to participate over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Key Facts
- Tournament start date
- 20 July 1980
- Tournament end date
- 2 August 1980
- Teams participating
- 16 teams
- Groups
- 4 groups
- Nations boycotting
- 7 qualified countries did not participate
- Host cities
- Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan prompted the United States to lead a broad international boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. Seven nations that had qualified for the Olympic football tournament declined to participate in solidarity with this protest, reducing the field of competing teams.
Sixteen teams competed in the men's football tournament held across Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, and Minsk between 20 July and 2 August 1980. The teams were split into four groups, with Group A featuring the host USSR alongside Cuba, Venezuela, and Zambia, and the tournament proceeding as the sole football event on the program.
FIFA's post-tournament technical report assessed the standard of play as generally inferior compared to the 1979 World Youth Tournament and the 1978 World Cup, reflecting the reduced competitive field caused by the boycott. The absence of several qualified nations diminished the overall quality and global representation of the competition.
Result
at Moscow (primary), Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk