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LAUSANNE, Switzerland, April 9 (DIWIDA > NEWS |) – The International Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday that the number of women’s soccer teams at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will expand from 12 to 16, whereas the men’s tournament will decrease from 16 to 12 teams.
This change was one of multiple adjustments made to the Olympic event lineup, introducing additional mixed-gender competitions across various sports. Additionally, every team sport will feature an equal number of female and male teams.
The IOC said the reason for the sharp increase in women's soccer teams was the rapidly growing popularity of women's team sports, especially in the United States, and that change in the competition format reflected that rapid growth.
"We aimed to do something to mirror this expansion, and also because the United States, which hosts the pinnacle of women’s soccer popularity, was involved," IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell stated at a press conference.
He said the IOC had discussed the issue with both LA Games organisers and world soccer's governing body FIFA before going through with the changes.
The total number of players -- men's and women's -- would not change.
The United States, who will also host the 2026 men's and the 2031 women's World Cup, have won five Olympic gold medals in the women's competition.
The male squads at the Olympics predominantly consist of under-23 athletes.
The LA Games will feature a total of 351 medal events across all sports, which is 22 more than the number held during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Various sports such as archery, track and field, golf, and gymnastics will introduce new mixed team competitions. Despite this addition, the overall athlete count remains steady at 10,500.
The five sports suggested by the LA Games organizing committee — baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash — will be allocated an additional 698 spots. (Reported by Karolos Grohmann; edited by Pritha Sarkar)