Olympics bosses have undermined her call for full gender equality, telling Sky News it would be too expensive and complex to have as many women as men taking part in football.
The gender gap has existed since women’s soccer reached the Olympics in 1996, while men’s groups first competed in the Games in 1900.
Sky News understands that FIFA has been pushing to bring up 4 more women’s teams to accommodate the length of the 16-team men’s event.
It seems that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is not willing to withdraw 4 men’s teams, given the lucrative nature of those matches due to ticket sales.
The IOC said in a statement to Sky News: “The men’s football tournament is an exception as it is the only team game with 16 teams, founded on a long-standing agreement that enjoys a good reputation through the current management. of the IOC.
“Increasing the number of women’s teams could lead to demands on other team sports, which would have an even greater effect on the cost, complexity, duration and sustainability of the Games. “
There are the same number of men’s and women’s groups in basketball, handball, hockey, rugby sevens and volleyball; In water polo there are fewer women.
The concept of gender equality is enshrined in the Olympic Charter and is the theme of IOC Day in Paris.
Today they had hinted that there is a preference for ending disparities between football competitions, when asked via Sky News at the press conference.
Marie Sallois, IOC director of sustainability and corporate progress, said: “The direction is set. . . we are on an adventure and we will have to keep working. “
But it later became clear that the IOC was facing obstacles when the IOC provided more details.
“The IOC is committed to keeping the Olympic Games within a defined framework, in terms of cost and complexity,” the IOC press release continues.
“The quota of athletes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been set at 10,500 athletes.
“As a general rule, if a foreign [sport] federation wishes to increase its number of places, the IOC will have to remove them from the existing quota allocated for that sport, or from the sport’s quota.
“This was unthinkable for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which explains the current quotas. “
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Overall, there is a close to 50/50 split among the more than 11,000 men and women in Paris.
But there are 157 male occasions versus 152 female occasions, as well as 20 combined occasions.
Team GB was last represented in women’s football in Tokyo 3 years ago, when England qualified by reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
But England was left out of Paris thanks to the new format of the Nations League.
Team GB’s men are technically ready for the Paris Olympics, as England won the last European Under-21 Championship.
But Britain has no standing in men’s football – apart from London 2012 – for fear that the original four nations will lose their separate prestige within Fifa in order to qualify for the World Cup and European Championship.