Exclusive: Women’s football tournament at Los Angeles 2028 to have 16 teams after swapping with men

The LA28 women's football tournament will swap places with the men and feature 16 teams, while Kirsty Coventry's election as IOC President has led to unforeseen repercussions in Zimbabwe

Another major step towards gender equality at the Olympic Games looks set to be achieved with a proposal to increase the number of women’s teams competing in the football tournament at Los Angeles 2028 to 16. They will swap positions with the men, whose tournament will feature only 12 teams.

It is expected to be one of the main items discussed by the Olympic Programme Commission when it meets virtually today to finalise recommendations for the next Games. FIFA has been pushing the International Olympic Committee to balance the men and women’s football events to ensure gender parity. Insiders at the IOC’s headquarters in Lausanne have revealed that has been ruled out so instead FIFA have agreed to a proposal which will see the women’s event swap with the men.

Women’s football made its Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996 when eight countries took part in a tournament won by the United States. The number of teams was raised to 10 at Athens 2004 and 12 at Beijing 2008, the figure it has remained since. The men’s tournament has featured 16 teams since Mexico 1968, except at Montreal 1976 when three African countries withdrew at the last minute in support of the anti-racism boycott.