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Soccer was first introduced as a women's Olympic sport in the 1996 Atlanta Games, won by the host country against the People's Republic of China in a thrilling final which attracted 76,000 spectators.
Qualifiers for the 2000 tournament were chosen from the quarterfinalists of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Since host nation Australia did not make it to the quarterfinals, the best three losing quarterfinalists - Germany, Nigeria and Sweden, along with the four winners - USA, China, Norway and Brazil, advanced to the 2000 Olympics. Australia qualified as the 8th entrant at the expense of Russia, the fourth losing quarterfinalist.
Women below the age of 16 are not allowed to participate. |