The Olympic Games will be held in 2021 and this opens an unknown question in football, the only sport with an age limit. Of the 18 players called up by each team, 15 must be under-23 (the other three have no age limit). That is, in this 2020 the players should have been born from the year 1997.
The one-year postponement means that the footballers born in 1997 will be 24 years old in 2021. This means that, if the regulation is not changed exceptionally and it is allowed to be U-24, the soccer players who obtained the Olympic ticket will not be able to compete. Sources from the Spanish Football Federation consulted by AS assure that it is still too early to find out and that nobody has notified them of anything, but they trust that the footballers born from 1997 will play the tournament. They understand that this postponement is something exceptional and, as such, an exception should also be made in the rule. It would be, according to these same sources, the most logical option and the one that everyone would prefer.
Normally, all federations follow the same path as Spain. In fact, the first voices have already asked for it. “I hope that FIFA and IOC change the rule so that the players who have qualified for the Olympic Games can fulfill their dream”, Graham Arnold, Australia coach, has assured.
In the case of the classified European teams (Spain, France, Romania and Germany) there was already a problem with age, since the tickets were distributed at the U-21 Euro Cup in 2019, which was for players born in 1996. In that sense, La Rojita had nine footballers who achieved the ticket and who, due to age, could not go to being from 1996 (Sivera, Junior, Aguirregabiria, Fabián, Roca, Ceballos, Pedraza, Fornals and Mikel Merino). Luis de la Fuente had decided to occupy the three places of those over 23 years old with three of the nine who were champions (he did not contemplate the idea of taking footballers such as Ramos, Piqué or Jesús Navas).
Now, if the norm is not changed, the championship in 2021 would become for soccer players born from 1998. In other words, the Sub-21 that began its cycle last September. In that case, only two of those who were champions in 2019 could attend by age (Dani Martín and Dani Olmo). Adding the three exceptions that the regulation allows, only five of the 23 champions could enjoy the prize they won in that Euro Cup and be among the 18 chosen by Luis de la Fuente.
However, although the IOC must first resolve other more far-reaching issues, when the new calendar and regulations are organized, an exception is included for these 2021 Games and football becomes an U-24 competition. This is indicated by logic and this will be claimed by all the participants.