Football at the 1908 Summer 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 →

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.