How to qualify in Football
How football teams qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
The men's tournament at Los Angeles 2028 has 12 teams and is an under-23 event. The women's has 16 teams and no age limit. The United States has one place in each as host.
FIFA does not run one qualifying competition. It hands each confederation a number of places, and the confederation decides how to fill them, usually through a championship it already holds.
| Confederation | Men's places | Women's places |
|---|---|---|
| AFC (Asia, including India) | 2 | 2.5 |
| CAF (Africa) | 2 | 2 |
| Concacaf (North and Central America, Caribbean) | 1 | 3 |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 2 | 2.5 |
| OFC (Oceania) | 1 | 1 |
| UEFA (Europe) | 3 | 4 |
| Host (United States) | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 12 | 16 |
The half places in the women's table belong to Asia and South America, which share one place between them.
For India: the women's route has closed. It ran through the 2026 Women's Asian Cup, where only the eight quarter-finalists went on, and India finished bottom of their group. The men's route is the 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, whose qualifying matches are listed for June 2027.
Who can play
- Men: an under-23 tournament. Players must be born on or after 1 January 2005, except that up to three older players may be named in the squad for the Games. No older players are allowed in the qualifying matches.
- Women: no age limit.
- A country can take part only if it has a National Olympic Committee recognised by the IOC (or about to be).
The places
The table in the simple layer is the FIFA Council's decision of 17 December 2025 (regulations, article 32.1). The host's men's under-23 team and women's team qualify automatically, if the US Olympic Committee confirms them.
The regulations list 2.5 women's places each for the AFC and CONMEBOL but do not say how the half place is settled. They do allow single play-off matches in the host country of the final tournament, with FIFA's permission (article 13.1 e).
How each confederation fills its places
The regulations leave the format to each confederation, with FIFA's approval (article 3).
Men
| Confederation | Route | When | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, Japan | 2028 (qualifying matches 7 to 15 June 2027) | 2 |
| CAF | 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt | 19 November to 4 December 2027 | 2 |
| Concacaf | 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship, Mexico | Played July and August 2026 | 1: Mexico |
| CONMEBOL | Olympic qualifying tournament | Not announced | 2 |
| OFC | Olympic qualifying tournament | Not announced | 1 |
| UEFA | 2027 European Under-21 Championship, Albania and Serbia | 17 June to 4 July 2027 | 3 |
Women
| Confederation | Route | When | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 2028 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, for the eight quarter-finalists of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup: two groups of four, the group winners qualify, two more teams play for the place in the AFC–CONMEBOL play-off | 19 April 2027 to 4 March 2028 | 2, plus the play-off |
| CAF | 2028 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament: five rounds of two-legged ties | June 2026 to December 2027 | 2 |
| Concacaf | 2026 Concacaf W Championship, United States: the two finalists and the third-place winner | 27 November to 5 December 2026 | 3 |
| CONMEBOL | 2025 Copa América Femenina, Ecuador | Played July and August 2025 | 2: Brazil and Colombia, plus the play-off |
| OFC | Olympic qualifying tournament | Not announced | 1 |
| UEFA | 2027 Women's Nations League | February to June 2027 | 4 |
| AFC–CONMEBOL play-off | 2028 | 1 |
India's position
Women. The 2026 Women's Asian Cup in Australia (March 2026) was the first step of Asia's Olympic route: its eight quarter-finalists went on to the Olympic qualifying tournament. India lost all three group matches (to Vietnam, Japan and Chinese Taipei) and finished fourth in Group C, so they are out.
Men. India's under-23 team would have to qualify for the 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in June 2027 and then finish in Asia's top two there.
How qualifying matches are played
The confederations can use home-and-away groups, single-venue groups, two-legged knock-out ties or, with FIFA's permission, a tournament in one country. In groups, a win is worth three points and a draw one (article 13).
Where to follow it
FIFA (inside.fifa.com) and each confederation publish their qualifying results. The page will need updating as each confederation's route finishes.