Olympic Soccer

Soccer has always endured an enigmatic relationship with the Olympic Games. According to most fans and pundits, the Olympic soccer tournament lacks the prestige associated with other events.
This has emerged from the conflict between the modern era of professionalism in soccer and the traditional amateur status of the Olympic games. However, in recent years the move towards universal professionalism has helped reunite the world of sport, and this is reflected in the new eligibility rules introduced for the 1996 Olympic competition.
From 1900 to 1928, the Olympic Games produced the first eight recognized world soccer champions, until FIFA declared that a separate global tournament should determine this honor. Uruguay, the reigning Olympic gold medallists, played host to the inaugural world cup in 1930, condemning the Olympic competition as the domain of amateur teams. Profiting from this status, Eastern European nations dominated the post-war period, fielding full-strength sides under the approved notion that none of their state-supported players were professional. Hungary proved the most successful, winning three gold medals plus a silver and a bronze from 1952 - 1972. The eighties saw more revered soccer playing nations claim honors, as the eligibility rules gradually relaxed to admit young professional players. As the 1996 tournament in Atlanta, the only competitor restrictions apply to age. With the exception of three team members, each international squad must be comprised of players under the age of 23. Many countries regard this contest as an invaluable opportunity to give their national under 21 teams competitve experience.
One notable exception will be Great Britain, who has not entered a team for many years. This stems from fear among the governing bodies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that if a unified side played in the Olympic Games, FIFA would apply similar constraints to the world cup and other international competitions, where each home nation currently enjoys the luxury of individual teams {and votes}. The Olympic tournament will be contested from July 20th to August 3rd between 16 nations, as determined by regional qualification competitions. A league system of four groups will decide the preliminary rounds, to be played at four venues across the U.S.A.: Florida Citrus Bowl, Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, Miami's Orange Bowl, and RFK Memorial Statidum in Washington DC. From each group, the top two teams qualify for the knockout stage, single-elimination matches at Sanford in Athens, Georgia.

What is abandonware ?