Olympic women’s soccer tournament to get more teams than men’s for first time in 2028 in Los Angeles

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, right, speaks next to the president-elect of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry, left, at the opening of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at the Olympic House, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Score it a big win for women’s soccer at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Olympic women’s soccer tournament will be bigger than the men’s edition for the first time in 2028, the International Olympic Committee decided Wednesday, with 16 teams for women and now just 12 for men.

The IOC decision flipped the gender imbalance at the Paris Olympics last year when it was 16 men’s teams and 12 in the women’s tournament. It was unequal since women’s soccer debuted at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with just eight teams.

The IOC executive board confirmed a proposal revealed last Thursday by FIFA President Gianni Infantino when he spoke at the annual meeting of European soccer body UEFA.

The online board meeting Wednesday was co-chaired in Lausanne for the first time by Kirsty Coventry as president-elect since her win last month. In June she will formally replace her mentor Thomas Bach and become the IOC’s first female leader in its 131-year history.