Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Football at the Olympics

Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics

The "Challenge Cup", awarded to
the winning team

Tournament details
Host country|  Great Britain
City| London
Dates| 19–24 October 1908
Teams| 6
Venue(s)| White City Stadium
Final positions
Champions|  Great Britain (2nd title)
Runners-up|  Denmark
Third place|  Netherlands
Fourth place|  Sweden
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 6
Goals scored| 48 (8 per match)
Top scorer(s)|  Sophus Nielsen (11 goals)

<- 1904 (1906)

1912 ->

International football competition

Winner's certificate

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, England, an official football tournament between national representative selections was contested for the first time; football had been played between club teams at the Games of 1900 and 1904.[1][2]

There were eight entries, including two from France (the main team and a B team). [3] Hungary and Bohemia both withdrew after the draw and appointment of referees, leaving six teams to contest the tournament.

Great Britain won the gold medal representing the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Ireland), although all the players were from England.

Sophus "Krølben" Nielsen of Denmark set a record by scoring 10 goals in a 17–1 win over France A. The famous mathematician Harald Bohr, brother of the even more famous Niels Bohr, also played for Denmark, who won the silver medal.

## Competition schedule[edit]

The match schedule of the tournament.[4]

Legend R1 | First round  | SF | Semi-finals  | B | Bronze medal match  | F | Gold medal match

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19 Mon | 20 Tue | 21 Wed | 22 Thu | 23 Fri | 24 Sat

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R1 | R1 |  | ½ | B | F

## Venue[edit]

The White City Stadium hosted all the matches

## Squads[edit]

Main article: Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads

## Bracket[edit]

| First round| | Semi-finals| | Gold medal match

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|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

| 19 October 1908| | | | |

|  Denmark | 9

| 22 October 1908

|  France B| 0 |

|  Denmark | 17

| |  France | 1 |

|  France | 2

| | 24 October 1908

|  Bohemia | 0 |

|  Denmark | 0

| 20 October 1908

| |  Great Britain | 2

|  Great Britain | 12

| 22 October 1908|

|  Sweden | 1 |

|  Great Britain | 4

| |  Netherlands | 0 | | Bronze medal match

|  Netherlands | 2

| | 23 October 1908

|  Hungary | 0 |

|  Netherlands | 2

|  Sweden | 0

## Tournament[edit]

The matches:[5][6]

With eight entries, the tournament draw had a full quarterfinal round of four matches.

However, after the draw and appointment of referees,  Hungary (on 12 October) and  Bohemia (on 14 October) were both forced to withdraw due to financial reasons: their opponents, the Netherlands and France respectively, were awarded a 2–0 victory.

### First round[edit]

* * *

19 October 1908

Netherlands | 2–0
Awarded|  Hungary

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|  |

Referee: Wagstaffe Simmons (Great Britain)

* * *

19 October 1908

Denmark | 9–0|  France B

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N. Middelboe 10', 49'
Wolfhagen 15', 17', 67', 72'
Bohr 25', 47'
S. Nielsen 78' | Report |

White City

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Thomas Kyle (Great Britain)

* * *

19 October 1908

France | 2–0
Awarded|  Bohemia

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|  |

Referee: George Muir (Great Britain)

* * *

20 October 1908

Great Britain | 12–1|  Sweden

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Stapley 13' 75'
Woodward 17' 31'
Berry 20'
Chapman 25'
Purnell 30' 35' 66' 85'
Hawkes 70' 80' | Report | Bergström 65'

White City

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: John Ibbotson (Great Britain)

* * *

### Semi-finals[edit]

22 October 1908

Great Britain | 4–0|  Netherlands

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Stapley 37', 60', 64', 75' | Report |

White City, London

Attendance: 6,000

Referee: John Howcroft (Great Britain)

* * *

22 October 1908

Denmark | 17–1|  France

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S. Nielsen 3', 4', 6', 39', 46', 48', 52', 64', 66', 76'
Lindgren 18', 37'
Wolfhagen 60', 72', 82', 89'
N. Middelboe 68' | Report | Sartorius 16'

White City, London

Attendance: 1,000

Referee: Campbell (Great Britain)

* * *

### Bronze medal match[edit]

Originally, all six teams eliminated before the final were to participate in a consolation tournament for the bronze medal, with two first-round matches to be played on 21 October between the four quarter-final losers.

After Hungary and Bohemia both withdrew, the first round was scratched on 15 October, with France B and Sweden qualifying for the semi-finals of the consolation tournament.

France B, Sweden and the two semi-final losers, France and the Netherlands, were scheduled to play the semi-finals on 23 October: the French teams were drawn against each other, and the Netherlands were drawn against Sweden, with the winners playing off in the bronze medal match prior to the gold medal match on 24 October.

However, both French teams had returned home immediately after their crushing defeats to Denmark on 19 October and 22 October: therefore, their semi-final and the 24 October bronze medal match were both scratched, with the Netherlands v Sweden semi-final becoming the bronze medal match.[7]

23 October 1908

Netherlands | 2–0|  Sweden

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Reeman 6'
Snethlage 58' | Report |

White City, London

Attendance: 300

Referee: Pearson (Great Britain)[8] [9]

* * *

### Gold medal match[edit]

1908 Summer Olympics Football Final

24 October 1908

15:00

Great Britain | 2–0|  Denmark

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Chapman 20'
Woodward 46' | Report |

White City, London

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: John Lewis (Great Britain)

Team details

Great Britain

Denmark

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GK |  | Horace Bailey
RB |  | Walter Corbett
LB |  | Herbert Smith
RH |  | Kenneth Hunt
CH |  | Frederick Chapman
LH |  | Robert Hawkes
OR |  | Arthur Berry
IR |  | Vivian Woodward
CF |  | Harold Stapley
IL |  | Clyde Purnell
OL |  | Harold Hardman
Head Coach:
Alfred Davis
|  |

|

GK |  | Ludvig Drescher
RB |  | Charles Buchwald
LB |  | Harald Hansen
RH |  | Harald Bohr
CH |  | Kristian Middelboe
LH |  | Nils Middelboe
OR |  | Oskar Nielsen-Norland
IR |  | August Lindgren
CF |  | Sophus Nielsen
IL |  | Vilhelm Wolfhagen
OL |  | Bjørn Rasmussen
Head Coach:
Charlie Williams

Assistant referees:
F. Styles (England)
W. Woollett (England)

## Medal summary[edit]

### Medal table[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result

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1  |  Great Britain (H) | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 18  | 1  | +17  | 6  | Champions
2  |  Denmark | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 26  | 3  | +23  | 4  | Runners-up
3  |  Netherlands | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 4  | −2  | 2  | Third place
4  |  Sweden | 2  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 1  | 14  | −13  | 0  | Fourth place
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
5  |  France | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 17  | −16  | 0  | Eliminated in semi-finals
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
6  |  France B | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 9  | −9  | 0  | Eliminated in first round

Source: FIFA[10]
(H) Hosts

### Medalists[edit]

Complete list of medal winners:[11]

Great Britain won the Gold Medal after beating Denmark at the final Denmark won the Silver Medal Event  | Gold | Silver | Bronze

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Men's tournament  |  Great Britain
Horace Bailey
Arthur Berry
Frederick Chapman
Walter Corbett
Harold Hardman
Robert Hawkes
Kenneth Hunt
Herbert Smith
Harold Stapley
Clyde Purnell
Vivian Woodward

* * *

George Barlow[12]
Albert Bell
Ronald Brebner
W. Crabtree
Walter Daffern
Thomas Porter
Albert Scothern  |  Denmark (DEN)[13]
Peter Marius Andersen
Harald Bohr
Charles Buchwald
Ludvig Drescher
Johannes Gandil
Harald Hansen
August Lindgren
Kristian Middelboe
Nils Middelboe
Sophus Nielsen
Oskar Nørland
Bjørn Rasmussen
Vilhelm Wolfhagen

* * *

Magnus Beck [12]
Ødbert E. Bjarnholt
Knud Hansen
Einar Middelboe  |  Netherlands (NED)
Reinier Beeuwkes
Frans de Bruyn Kops
Karel Heijting
Jan Kok
Bok de Korver
Emil Mundt
Louis Otten
Jops Reeman
Edu Snethlage
Ed Sol
Jan Thomée
Caius Welcker

* * *

Jan van den Berg[12]
Lo la Chapelle
Vic Gonsalves
John Heijting
Tonie van Renterghem

## Statistics[edit]

### Goalscorers[edit]

Danish Sophus Nielsen, topscorer with 11 goals

11 goals

* Sophus Nielsen

8 goals

* Vilhelm Wolfhagen

6 goals

* Harold Stapley

4 goals

* Clyde Purnell

3 goals

* Nils Middelboe
* Vivian Woodward

2 goals

* Harald Bohr
* August Lindgren
* Frederick Chapman
* Robert Hawkes

1 goal

* Émile Sartorius
* Arthur Berry
* Jops Reeman
* Edu Snethlage
* Gustaf Bergström

### Goalkeeping[edit]

Place | Name | Team | Goals allowed | Games | GAA

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1 | Horace Bailey |  Great Britain | 1 | 3 | 0.33
2 | Ludvig Drescher |  Denmark | 3 | 3 | 1.00
3 | Reinier Beeuwkes |  Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 2.00
4 | Oskar Bengtsson |  Sweden | 14 | 2 | 7.00
5 | Fernand Desrousseaux |  France B | 9 | 1 | 9.00
6 | Maurice Tillette |  France | 17 | 1 | 17.00

## Bibliography[edit]

* Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.

## References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Association football at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

1. ^ Olympic Football Tournament London 1908, FIFA.com
2. ^ "Football at the 1908 London Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
3. ^ Great Britain's first home Olympic football adventure by Jon Carter on ESPN, 26 July 2012
4. ^ "Match Schedule for Olympic Football Tournament London 1908". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
5. ^ Games of the IV. Olympiad - Football Tournament (London, England, October 19 - 24, 1908) by Lars Aarhus on the RSSSF
6. ^ Olympic Tournament - 1908 London on IFFHS
7. ^ "Consolation tournament (tournament for third place and bronze medals)". RSSSF. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
8. ^ "Netherlands 2 Sweden 0 (Match summary)". www.footballdatabase.eu. 23 October 1908. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
9. ^ J.T. Hornsby was originally appointed as referee for this match, but withdrew due to illness and was replaced by Pearson.
10. ^ "Men's Olympic Football Tournament (Statistics, Facts & Figures 1908–2016): Statistical Kit (including Rio 2016) – Ranking by tournament 1908–2016" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 27 March 2017. p. 16. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
11. ^ "Footballers in London". Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2006.
12. ^ a b c Those players were also in squad, but did not play any matches.
13. ^ (in Danish) Slutrundetrupper 1908-2004 at Danish Football Union Archived 9 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Summer Olympics men's football tournament winners

List of Olympic medalists

* 1900:  Upton Park (Great Britain) (GBR)
* 1904:  Galt (Canada) (CAN)
* 1908:  Great Britain (GBR)
* 1912:  Great Britain (GBR)
* 1920:  Belgium (BEL)
* 1924:  Uruguay (URU)
* 1928:  Uruguay (URU)
* 1936:  Italy (ITA)
* 1948:  Sweden (SWE)
* 1952:  Hungary (HUN)
* 1956:  Soviet Union (URS)
* 1960:  Yugoslavia (YUG)
* 1964:  Hungary (HUN)
* 1968:  Hungary (HUN)
* 1972:  Poland (POL)
* 1976:  East Germany (GDR)
* 1980:  Czechoslovakia (TCH)
* 1984:  France (FRA)
* 1988:  Soviet Union (URS)
* 1992:  Spain (ESP)
* 1996:  Nigeria (NGR)
* 2000:  Cameroon (CMR)
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* 2008:  Argentina (ARG)
* 2012:  Mexico (MEX)
* 2016:  Brazil (BRA)
* 2020:  Brazil (BRA)

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Football at the Summer Olympics

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Related topics|

* List of medalists
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* List of official match balls

* Category
* Commons

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Denmark national football team matches

FIFA Confederations Cup Final|

* 1995

UEFA European Championship Final|

* 1992

Artemio Franchi Cup|

* 1993

Summer Olympics Finals|

* 1908
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Other matches|

* Germany 8–0 Denmark (1937)
* Denmark v Sweden (2007)
* Slovakia 3–0 Denmark (2018)

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Events at the 1908 Summer Olympics (London)

* Archery
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51°30′49″N 0°13′39″E﻿ / ﻿51.5136°N 0.2274°E﻿ / 51.5136; 0.2274
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template