Álvarez, Marta and midweek matches: why football at the Olympics is worth watching

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What we have always said here on Football Daily is that the world needs more football tournaments. Oh yes. You’ve had your European Championships and your Copa Américas this summer but the fun does not have to end in mid-July because there is football at Big Sports Day still to take place. Sometimes in good ol’ Blighty this competition is overlooked because it is definitely not the most valued of all the trinkets and rarely do superstars play. Long jumpers, shot putters and joggers all rightly think a shiny gold medal and a five-ring tattoo are the epitome of sporting success but football has never held that view.

Great Britain forgets about the tournament’s existence because it will not be represented thanks to bureaucracy and goal difference. The last time a GB men’s team did show up, Stuart Pearce was manager and Scott Sinclair was on the wing. Needless to say, it did not go well and they were eliminated at the quarter-finals stage by South Korea, failing to go higher, be faster or stronger. The women’s side had the same issue in 2012, although Canada were the victors. They made the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020 but were flamin’ turfed out by Australia. All these losses were greeted with an almighty shrug at the time given that no one really bothers to watch the competition in the UK.

But not everyone is as miserable as the Brits, some people actually really want to be part of it. Julián Álvarez, fresh from the Copa América, will lead the line for Argentina and Álex Baena arrives pretty much straight from a Euros triumph in search of more mantelpiece decorations. The South Americans are very keen to bring back some gold; Lionel Messi has a shiny medal from 2008 but matters since have superseded this fact. Brazil’s legendary Marta is back for one final push for success having won two silvers down the years. She will bow out from the international game at the conclusion of Paris 2024, adding a little thrill to viewers. And the world’s best player Aitana Bonmatí will be leading Spain’s charge, bringing plenty of star quality to the event. There will be matches in Paris but other venues spread from Nantes to Nice, taking the tournament a little further than the rest of Big Sports Day, spreading the joy of athletic excellence.

Things start on Wednesday when Spain’s men take on Uzbekistan, in a clash no one anticipated at a major tournament, Argentina play Morocco in the mid-afternoon sun. It might not be A-list but no one will be complaining about winning, putting them on par with Messi, and few can say they are an Olympic champion, plus most of it is on midweek in the middle of the afternoon and that is the procrastinator’s dream.

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