General Organisation of the Olympic Football Tournaments Atlanta 1996

by Walter Gagg
director of FIFA's Sport Division

General comments on the organisation

The American players thank the fabulous crowd in Birmingham.

Both football tournaments (women's and men's) were a great success with the public, and exceptional on the technical level in comparison with Barcelona. But on the organisational side, the same cannot be said, since there were too many disrupting and disagreeable factors in this respect. However we were very pleased that at least some colleagues on the ACOG carried out their work carefully and competently. The superb infrastructure in the stadiums, the range of facilities at each of the venues, the perfect transportation network plus the state of the art, powerful communication system, these were all factors that contributed enormously to the success of the competitions. Another positive feature was the total engagement of the thousands of volunteer helpers who played their part in making things work well.

Naturally we regret that neither of the finals was scheduled for the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta; this was disappointing and frustrating. Fortunately the record numbers of spectators that turned up helped compensate for this. The crowd for the men's final was a stadium record, with over 88,000, and the women's set a new record for any women's sporting event.

Another point that gave rise to criticism was the tight playing schedule. It is irresponsible to ask teams to play six matches in twelve days under conditions of great heat and humidity, with the inconvenience of having to travel between matches thrown in as well.

Co-operation between FIFA and the LOC was good, but that between FIFA and the IOC needs to be improved where there are points of dissension and each side's position needs to be made clear.

Stadiums

Fair Play - more than just a slogan at Atlanta '96.

The 48 matches were played in stadiums in five different cities. The exceptional quality of the stadiums played a major role in the success of the competitions. From the security point of view as well conditions were ideal, and there was never occasion for concern. The quality of the grass playing surfaces certainly contributed to the high technical level of the matches. The training facilities we were able to offer all the teams were rated from good to very good, which is not something to be taken for granted. It was demonstrated once again that a good surface allows technically brilliant players to show their skills to the full. Some teams and individual players gave us a real treat in this respect.

Transport

Here we have to distinguish between the transportation provided for FIFA officials and what was provided for the delegations. On the whole, FIFA had properly organised means of transport at their disposal, even if there were one or two problematic moments. For the delegations, however, both the organisation and the quality of the transport was below expectation. Unfortunately we were forced to intervene on a number of occasions, but the organisation remained below par. In this respect much has to be done in the next few years.

The players of the Chinese team seem to feel at home in the Olympic Village.

Accommodation and food

The national associations rightly criticised the partly insufficiently equipped and poor quality accommodation in the Olympic villages. A lack of air conditioning, uncomfortable beds, dirty washrooms, etc. were the main negative points. More than half of the men's teams chose to move out into hotels - at their own cost. This meant losing the "Olympic Spirit" and the sense of belonging to the Olympic family, which is very regrettable. Here it is to be hoped, on the part of the national associations as well, that a repeat of such circumstances does not occur.

Security

The security measures taken by the American government allowed the competitions to proceed smoothly in all five cities without the slightest disturbance, either before, during, or after matches. That there were no fences within the stadiums, even with the large crowds involved, is further proof that such measures as netting and fences must now be regarded as things of the past, worldwide.

The Nigerian flag is raised and the Olympic Village is firmly in the grip of the eventual winners.

Conclusions

It has to be made clear that, in view of the quality of players involved, Olympic football tournaments can no longer be viewed as average competitions. The organisers of today's competitions must be aware of this. In future even higher demands will be made of the organisers, among whom we count FIFA as well. With the Olympic Games in Sydney in the year 2000 coming up, this point must be given our full attention. Only if it is certain that participating delegations will be given full support and assistance can we look forward confidently to future Olympic football tournaments. On the one hand this can be seen as a challenge, but on the other it represents a task for all concerned that is not to be taken lightly.