By Victor Kanayo
From the 2028 Olympics, organisers have announced an increase in women’s football teams from 12 to 16.
This was disclosed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in a statement.
The statement issued by IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said, “We wanted to do something to reflect that growth and equally with the United States being the home of the highest level of popularity of women’s football,” he told a press conference.
He said the IOC had discussed the issue with both LA Games organisers and world football’s governing body, FIFA, before going through with the changes.
The upcoming Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, United States.
According to the IOC, the decision was part of several changes to the Olympic event programme, including more mixed events across various sports and all team sports featuring at least the same number of women’s and men’s teams.
The IOC said the reason for the sharp increase in women’s football teams was the rapidly growing popularity of women’s team sports, especially in the United States, and that the change in the competition format reflected that rapid growth.
The United States, who will also host the 2026 men’s and the 2031 women’s World Cups, have won five Olympic gold medals in the women’s competition.
The LA Games will have a total of 351 medal events in all sports, 22 more than at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
