For the Paris Olympics, four football matches, all involving a French team, were originally scheduled:
16th September 1900 France vs Switzerland 23rd September 1900 France vs Belgium 30th September 1900 France vs Germany 7th October 1900 France vs England
As Switzerland and Germany eventually did not send a team, the match involving France and England was moved forward to 20th September.
France's representatives were determined by the USFSA, which elected the Parisian champions Club Français. For Belgium, the 1899/00 national champions, Racing Club de Bruxelles, were invited, but they declined. Eventually the Belgian federation sent a student selection, enforced with a few non-students, and comprising two non-Belgian nationals; all players were active at Belgian clubs, such as Léopold Club, Racing Club, Skill Club (all three from Brussels), FC Liégeois, SC Louvain and Spa FC. For England, Upton Park FC played.
Both matches were part of the official Olympic programme, which was a haphazard affair, as the entire Olympics suffered from being a mere sideshow to the World Exhibition in Paris that year. No medals were awarded (this habit, in its current form, was started in 1906 only), and the two matches together were never intended as a proper tournament (if one would like to consider them, anachronistically, for any medal count, they should be counted as separate events).
Sources include: [BuL], [iff]
Additional information thanks to Frédéric Pauron (fpauron@hotmail.com)
Prepared and maintained by Søren Elbech and Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Authors: Søren Elbech and Karel Stokkermans
Last updated: 26 Jun 2008
(C) Copyright Søren Elbech, Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 1997/2008
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that
proper
acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.