ympics, dwarfed in terms of importance by athletics, swimming and even gymnastics. Even though megastars such as Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi are going to China, the spotlight won't really swing towards them until the final stages.
Yet Olympic football is making waves a little over two weeks before it starts on Aug. 7. A series of ugly rows are developing during the buildup with clubs refusing to release their stars even though they have been called up by their countries searching for an elusive gold medal.
The clubs' argument is that it's another irrelevant and badly timed tournament, while the International Olympic Committee and soccer's world governing body FIFA are trying their best to give football a bigger impact in the Games.
For decades it was played by so-called amateurs and dominated by teams from the former Soviet bloc because the big stars from western countries, who were paid, weren't allowed to take part.
Now the Olympics are open to professionals in all sports, and football is for teams of players who are age 23 and under with three overage stars allowed to join them. The prospect of winning an Olympic gold medal has prompted some of the big names to join their rising stars and, while 21-year-old Argentina star Messi falls into the age category, 28-year-old Ronaldinho has decided to join the Brazilian squad to try and add another title to his already impressive record.
The competition even starts two days before the opening ceremony and most of it is taking place in cities well away from Beijing -- effectively taking the Olympics to Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdo where thousands more Chinese can watch the games.
With 16 teams taking part and a final in the Olympic stadium Aug. 23, the IOC and FIFA hope that soccer will maintain its growth within the Olympics after standout performances in recent games by gold medal winners Nigeria (1996), Cameroon (2000) and Argentina (2004).
Brazil great Ronaldo and Nigeria's Nwankwo Kanu have played in the games and Argentina's goalscoring star in Athens four years ago was Carlos Tevez, now with Manchester United.
So those in charge of Olympic soccer hoped that the clubs would be proud to field someone who had won an Olympic gold medal.
Far from it, apparently.
