Football was on the Olympic Programme at every Olympics from 1900-1928, but it was not to be on the Olympic Programme at the 1932 Olympics. In February 1928, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) voted to contest a World Cup competition, open to all players, beginning in 1930. FIFA was no longer pleased that the IOC controlled Olympic football, and that the amateur rules for the Olympics prevented many of the best football players from competing. Due to the dispute between the IOC and FIFA over Olympic eligibility, and with FIFA playing hardball as they tried to establish the World Cup as the premier football tournament, football would not be contested at the 1932 Olympics.
However, football returned in 1936, as the IOC and FIFA worked out their differences, but the Olympic event was strictly amateur, as it would remain until the 1980s. Because of this, several European countries withdrew their entries, as did most of the South American teams, with only Peru, hardly a football power, competing from South America.
Sixteen (16) nations eventually competed in a single-elimination tournament, which fit nicely, with Italy winning the gold medal in a 2-1 extra-time victory over Austria in the final match. The tournament was contested at four sites around Berlin – Olympiastadion, on the Reichssportfeld (the main Olympic Stadium); Mommsenstadion; Poststadion; and Hertha-BSC-Platz.
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