Women’s Teams Celebrate Major Victory as Female Athletes Take Centre Stage at LA 2028

For the first time in Olympic history, female athletes will outnumber their male counterparts at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, marking a significant victory for women’s sports.

The women’s football tournament will feature 16 teams, surpassing the men’s tournament, which will comprise just 12 teams. This change was confirmed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday, in a reversal of the gender distribution at the Paris 2024 Games, which has 16 men’s teams and only 12 for the women.

This decision from the IOC executive board has increased the overall athlete quota for LA, resulting in a representation of 50.7 per cent women and 49.3 per cent men — that’s 5,333 women and 5,167 men, according to the IOC.

The gap narrows when including athletes from newly added sports to the LA programme — with 322 female competitors and 376 males — encompassing cricket, flag football, and lacrosse.

This historic development for female athletes came during an online board meeting co-chaired by Kirsty Coventry, who has just been elected as president. Coventry is set to succeed Thomas Bach in June, becoming the IOC’s first female leader in its 131-year history.

In a further stride towards gender parity, two additional women’s teams were added to the water polo event, allowing for an equal representation with 12 teams in both men’s and women’s competitions. Boxing will also feature an extra women’s weight class, bringing the total to match the men’s seven medal events.

“Promoting gender equality is paramount for us,” stated IOC sports director Kit McConnell.

“We are grateful to LA 28 for their commitment to this vision.”

The need for reform

The IOC’s significant decision addresses the historical inequality that has existed since women’s football was introduced at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, where it started with just eight teams — significantly fewer than the men’s tournament.

This proposal was validated by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his address at the recent annual UEFA meeting.

The urgency for changes in women’s football is underscored by its prominence as a top-tier event, with national teams fielding their best players.

In contrast, the men’s tournament rarely includes top talent due to scheduling conflicts with club commitments worldwide, primarily featuring players aged 23 or younger.

For instance, the French men’s team, which secured a silver medal in Paris last year, was unable to include star player Kylian Mbappé, who had recently signed with Real Madrid.

Since 1980, men’s football has consistently featured 16 teams at every Summer Games up to Paris 2024.

The number of women’s teams increased to 10 at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and subsequently to 12 in Beijing in 2008.

FIFA and Infantino had been advocating for equality with a 16-team women’s tournament, necessitating the addition of approximately 70 players and accompanying staff, which could stretch accommodation capacities for Olympic organisers.

The compromise reached favours the women’s tournament over the men’s, further advancing the IOC’s ongoing efforts towards gender parity, first established at Paris.

Mixed-gender events

Los Angeles will also see the introduction of mixed-gender team events in golf and the 4×100-metre sprint relay for the first time.

Additional new mixed events will be introduced in artistic gymnastics, archery, coastal rowing, and table tennis.

With these developments, the LA 2028 Games will feature a record 351 medal events, including 161 for women, 165 for men, and 25 mixed events, as revealed by the IOC.