Men’s football at the Olympics is usually reserved for players aged 23 and below, with each country eligible to include three overaged players in their 18-man squads.
FIFA has however decided to extend the age limit for next summer’s tournament from 23 to 24 to enable players who would have been eligible to play at this year’s rescheduled games to feature.
All players born on or after January 1, 1997 are now eligible for participation.
However, women’s football tournament at the Olympics has no age limit.
The 2020 summer Olympics has been pushed back a year due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than a million people and taken over 60,000 lives.
The Olympic games were supposed to be held in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9 this year but will now take place between July 23 and August 8 2021.
Brazil are the defending champions at the Olympics, having beaten Germany to the gold medal in Rio four years ago.
FIFA have also cancelled the Under-17 Women’s World Cup and the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, scheduled to be played later this year in India and Panama/Costa Rica respectively.
