adminAFTER the Colombia Under-23 men’s side secured their ticket to Rio de Janeiro by defeating their USA counterparts in their inter-continental play-off last month, all 28 slots at the Olympic Football Tournaments Rio 2016 have now been filled. The nations involved are surely waiting with baited breath for the draw, to be held at the Maracana on April 14, 2016.
Hosts Brazil will take the lead spot in Group A (men’s) and Group E (women’s), with the men’s teams allocated into four pots based on a ranking built according to performances at the past five Olympic Football Tournaments.
The ranking is weighted so that recent performances play a more prominent role, and a bonus is given to those nations who finished their qualifying competition as continental champions.
The 16 sides will be drawn into four groups of four (named Groups A-D), and the pot allocation for the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament is as follows:
Pot 1: Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan
Pot 2: Nigeria, Korea Republic, Honduras, Iraq
Pot 3: Sweden, Fiji, Portugal, South Africa
Pot 4: Algeria, Colombia, Denmark, Germany
The women’s sides will also be split into four pots, but their allocation to the pots will be based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking released on 25 March. The 12 sides will be drawn into three groups of four (named Groups E-G), and the pot allocation for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament is as follows:
Pot 1: Brazil, USA, Germany
Pot 2: France, Australia, Sweden
Pot 3: Canada, China PR, New Zealand
Pot 4: Colombia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
The general principle for each tournament’s draw is to ensure that no group has more than one team from the same confederation.
The draw is scheduled to kick off at 10.30 local time. — Fifa.com
Online Reporter