Will Olympic apply the unprecedented rules for men's football?

Specifically, men's Olympic football is only for players who are 23 years old or younger (born in 1997 onwards) plus 3 players who are over-aged.

However, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics moved to 2021, making the players born in 1997 no longer eligible to attend.

This greatly affects the players who have tried to bring the Olympic ticket to the home team. KFA (Korea Football Federation) has spoken about the above shortcomings.

Sports Chosun reported that KFA sent a letter to the Asia Football Confederation (AFC) on March 26 to summarize the issue. The letter was simultaneously sent to FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In the KFA letter, IOC and FIFA would like to discuss and make an exception for the players born in 1997 to continue playing in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

"It is not fair for athletes who have tried to compete in qualifying rounds but are unable to attend the Olympics due to force majeure from Covid-19. While the Olympics' names remain the same so they I hope the athletes who have won tickets to the Olympic Games will continue to participate in the next year, " KFA wrote in an open letter to the IOC.

Men's football has been played for a long time at the Olympics, but because FIFA didn't want the World Cup to be affected, FIFA only allowed amateur players to attend. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the IOC decided to allow professional players from South America and Europe who had never played in the World Cup to attend, while Asia was allowed.

At the 1992 Olympics, the IOC changed the rules by forcing teams to use the U23 squad to attend. 4 years later, the IOC allowed teams to have 3 more players over the age of 23. This rule has been applied since then.

If the Tokyo Olympics allowed 24-year-old players to participate, this would be an unprecedented precedent. But most likely it only applies to the Olympics this time.

4 places to attend the men's Olympic games in Tokyo, including Japan, Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia.