Manaus has joined São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasília and Salvador on the list of cities that are qualified to host men’s and women’s Olympic football matches at the Rio 2016 Games. The Rio 2016 Organising Committee confirmed on Thursday (12 February) that the five cities meet the technical, logistical, operational and financial requirements established in the tender specifications. The final choice of which cities will be Olympic co-hosts rests with FIFA, world football’s governing body.

“Since the candidacy phase, we have been working with four cities for football, in addition to Rio de Janeiro, and after many studies and analyses, we saw the possibility of including one more,” said Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman. “Considering our concept of the Games being for all of Brazil, the inclusion of Manaus makes good sense. The Amazon rainforest is one of the country’s most emblematic symbols and we would like very much to include Manaus in our proposal to integrate all of Brazil in the Games.   

“The five cities we have approved were great successes during the World Cup. We will send our proposal to FIFA, who will select the cities, and to the federal government, that will be responsible for some areas, such as security. The FIFA council will meet in March and we will wait for their response, as we are depending on this decision in order to plan the next steps in various sectors, such as ticket sales.”

The only sport with competitions outside Rio de Janeiro, football will spread the Olympic spirit across Brazil with 58 games in different regions. Sixteen countries will compete in the men’s tournament, while 12 will contest the women’s competition. The group draw will take place in April 2016 and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee will make a request to FIFA that this event happens in Brazil.

Two South American teams have already booked their places in the men’s competition: Brazil, as host country, and Argentina, as the winners of the South American under-20 championship. In the women’s tournament, Colombia confirmed their place, along with hosts Brazil, by finishing runners-up in last year’s Copa America. The remaining places will be decided by April 2016.

The men’s Olympic football competition features players up to the age of 23 (born after 31 December 1992), with the exception of three ‘over-age’ players per nation. The teams will be divided into groups of four and the competition will begin on 4 August, one day before the Olympic Games opening ceremony. The two best-performing members of each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The final will be played on 20 August at the Maracanã Stadium.

In the women’s competition there are no age restrictions. The 12 teams will be split into three groups of four, and matches will start on 3 August. The top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams will progress to the quarter-finals. The final will be played on 19 August, also at the Maracanã Stadium.