Schedule Of Football

The most popular game in the world, football, is an important segment in Olympics and had found place in every Olympics except 1896 and 1932. Added as a men's competition sport, women's football also became part of this mega event in 1996. As usual, it is expected to be a major event in London Olympics 2012. Group matches marks the beginning of the competitions in Olympics and it ends with a knockout phase. London Olympics is waiting to hurray on two gold medals winners in this event - one each for men's and women's team. London has arranged six major grounds around UK, fans look up to Olympic football games with great excitement. A total of 380 athletes, (237 men and 143 women are participating in 10 medal events. Starting from 25th July and extending up to 11th August, this popular game is scheduled to take place in six venues - Hampden Park (Glasgow), City of Coventry Stadium, (Coventry), Old Trafford (Manchester), Millennium Stadium (Cardiff), St James' Park (Newcastle) and Wembley Stadium. Browse down to learn about the schedule of football in 1012 London Olympics.

Football Events In London 2012 Olympics
Men's Events

Schedule of Events

25 July 2012
16:00-20:45 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (Hampden Park, Glasgow)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)

26 July 2012
12:00-16:45 (Hampden Park, Glasgow)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
14:30-19:15 (St James' Park, Newcastle)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
19:45-21:45 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Men's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
19:45-21:45 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Men's Preliminary Round (1 Match)

28 July 2012
12:00-16:45 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
14:30-19:15 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (Hampden Park, Glasgow)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)

29 July 2012
12:00-16:45 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
14:30-19:15 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (St James' Park, Newcastle)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (Wembley Stadium)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)

31 July 2012
14:30-16:30 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Women's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
14:30-19:15 (St James' Park, Newcastle)
Women's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:15-19:15 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Women's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
19:45-21:45 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Women's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
19:45-21:45(Wembley Stadium)
Women's Preliminary Round (1 Match)

01 August 2012
14:30-16:30 (Hampden Park, Glasgow)
Men's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
14:30-16:30 (St James' Park, Newcastle)
Men's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
17:00-19:00 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Men's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
17:00-19:00 (Wembley Stadium)
Men's Preliminary Round (1 Match)
17:00-21:45 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)
17:00-21:45 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Men's Preliminary Round (2 Matches)

03 August 2012
12:00-14:00 (Hampden Park, Glasgow)
Women's Quarterfinal
14:30-16:30 (St James' Park, Newcastle)
Women's Quarterfinal
17:00-19:00 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Women's Quarterfinal
19:30-21:30 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Women's Quarterfinal

04 August 2012
12:00-14:00 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Men's Quarterfinal
14:30-16:30 (Wembley Stadium)
Men's Quarterfinal
17:00-19:00 (St James' Park, Newcastle)
Men's Quarterfinal
19:30-21:30 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Men's Quarterfinal

06 August 2012
17:00-19:00 (Wembley Stadium)
Women's Semifinal
19:45-21:45 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Women's Semifinal

07 August 2012
17:00-19:00 (Wembley Stadium)
Men's Semifinal
19:45-21:45 (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Men's Semifinal

09 August 2012
13:00-15:00 (City of Coventry Stadium, Coventry)
Women's Bronze Medal Match
19:45-22:15 (Wembley Stadium)
Women's Gold Medal Match

10 August 2012
19:45-21:45 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Men's Bronze Medal Match

11 August 2012
15:00-17:30 (Wembley Stadium)
Men's Gold Medal Match

Composition Of Teams
Each team consists of 11 players categorized into different categories assigned with specific functions. There are five offenders in each team, who is responsible to protect the passer and clear the way for runners by blocking the defenders of other team. The leader of offense is called quarterback. Running backs are specialized in running with the ball. They proceed by blocking, catching passes and even pass the ball to others (rare) or even receive the snap. Wide receivers are specialized in catching passes. Tight ends, who line up next to offenders, can support either wide receivers or offenders. Defense line consists of three to six players and they are placed next to the offensive line. Unlike offenders, defenders do not have specified rules on starting position, movement, or coverage zones. Players handling kinking are called special team.

Match
Match takes place between two teams of 11 players each. The only aim of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball successfully into the opposite team's goal post. The team which makes maximum number of goals wins. Match is composed of two halves of 45-minutes each and if no goal is scored or equal number of goal is scored, the game will extend to extra time. If extra time does not work, then penalty shootouts are used to decide the winners.