Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics — 1984 edition of the association football tournament during the Olympic Summer Games
The 1984 Olympic football tournament was the first to permit professional players and set a U.S. soccer attendance record of 101,799 at the gold medal match.
Key Facts
- Tournament dates
- July 29 – August 11, 1984
- Gold medal match attendance
- 101,799 spectators
- Gold medal venue
- Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- Number of host venues
- 4
- Cap restriction
- No more than 5 senior international caps
- Gold medal match
- France vs Brazil
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Prior Olympic football competitions operated under an amateur-only rule that effectively favored Soviet Bloc nations whose players were professionals in practice but not in name. FIFA agreed to open the Games to professionals on condition that the competition's prestige would not overshadow the World Cup, leading to a cap restriction rather than full open eligibility.
The football tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics ran from July 29 to August 11 across four U.S. venues. For the first time, officially professional players were permitted, though UEFA and CONMEBOL nations were limited to players who had not appeared in a World Cup. France defeated Brazil in the gold medal final at the Rose Bowl before 101,799 spectators.
The gold medal match set a new Olympic football attendance record, surpassing the 100,000 mark set at the 1956 Melbourne Games, and established the highest attendance for any soccer match in the United States at the time. That U.S. record stood until 2014, and the Olympic record itself lasted until the 2000 Sydney Games drew 104,098 for Cameroon vs Spain.
Result
at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California