The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will begin with the first games of the men’s soccer tournament four days before the opening ceremony.

The first six matches of the men’s tournament will be staged in New York, Columbus, St. Louis and Nashville on July 10.

The women’s tournament will kick off on July 11, three days before the opening ceremony, with games also at NYCFC’s Etihad Park, Columbus Crew’s ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, St Louis City’s Energizer Park and Nashville’s Geodis Park in addition to San Jose Earthquake’s PayPal Park and San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium.

The distribution of games across the seven cities was announced by the Games organisers in a statement on Monday, and the earlier start date was also confirmed. Olympic soccer typically begins two days before the opening ceremony due to the tournament consisting of three-match group stages and quarterfinals, and the International Olympic Committee has approved an earlier start to allow an additional two days of rest at LA 2028.

San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium will host the largest number of matches with 11 games across the men’s and women’s tournaments, including the men’s bronze-medal match on July 27 and women’s on July 28. One men’s semifinal on July 24 and one women’s on July 25 will be staged at the 35,000-capacity venue, in addition to a women’s quarterfinal on July 21. Six women’s group stage fixtures will also be hosted at the stadium, which is the second largest soccer venue being used for the Games.

It was confirmed last year that the Rose Bowl in Pasadena would host both gold-medal matches, with the women’s gold-medal match closing the soccer tournament on July 29. The 90,000-capacity stadium will also stage a men’s semifinal on July 24, a women’s semifinal on July 25 and a women’s quarterfinal on July 21.

The quarterfinals are spread across all seven soccer venues. New York, Columbus, Nashville and St. Louis will host the men’s quarterfinals on July 20, while the women’s quarterfinals will take place in St. Louis, San Jose, San Diego and Pasadena on July 21.

Unlike previous Games, the women’s competition at LA28 will feature 16 teams, in four groups of four, while the men’s competition will have only 12 teams, split into three groups of four.

The organisers confirmed the full schedule, including kick-off times and match pairings, would be announced “later this year”.

2028 LA Olympic soccer venues and schedule

Etihad Park, New York

Five men’s group-stage games (July 10, 13, 16)
Three women’s group-stage games (July 11, 14, 17)
One men’s quarterfinal (July 20)

ScottsMiracle-Gro Field, Columbus

Six men’s group-stage games (July 10, 13, 16)
Two women’s group-stage games (July 11, 14)
One men’s quarterfinal match (July 20)

Geodis Park, Nashville 

Three men’s group-stage games (July 10, 13, 16)
Four women’s group-stage games (July 11, 14, 17)
One men’s quarterfinal (July 20)
One women’s quarterfinal (July 21)

Energizer Park, St. Louis

Four men’s group-stage games (July 10, 13, 16)
Three women’s group-stage games (July 11, 14, 17)
One men’s quarterfinal (July 20)

Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego

Six women’s group-stage games (July 11, 14, 17)
One women’s quarterfinal (July 21)
One men’s semifinal (July 24)
One women’s semifinal (July 25)
Men’s bronze-medal games (July 27)
Women’s bronze-medal games (July 28)

The Rose Bowl, Pasadena 

One women’s quarterfinal (July 21)
One men’s semifinal (July 24)
One women’s semifinal (July 25)
Men’s gold-medal games (July 28)
Women’s gold-medal games (July 29)