It’s just a matter of time until the 2024 Paris Olympics officially. Athletes across various nations will look to gather as many laurels as they can. While fans have marked Friday, July 26 on their calendars as the official start date to cheer for their favorite teams and athletes, there have been some questions as to why the soccer matches for both men’s and women’s teams kick-off two days before the grand opening ceremony of this prestigious event.

This is simply because of the usual time that the beautiful game takes to conclude. It is known that the Paris Olympics begin on 26 July 2024 and end on 11 August 2024. 16 days apparently are not enough for a game like soccer to conclude, which includes 18 group-stage matches, 6 knockout fixtures (quarter-finals and semis), a third-place match, and 1 final. All of these stages would see 16 men and 12 women teams compete in their respective categories.

This made it impossible to conduct all of these games within the given timeframe. Therefore the men’s soccer matches begin from Wednesday, July 24, and women’s soccer matches start from Thursday, July 25. Though the matches kick off early, they end before the closing ceremony of the Olympics as the finals for both men and women are scheduled for Saturday, August 10.

Another reason is the proximity and availability of venues. Even though there are seven soccer stadiums in France, other games like rugby, that require larger fields are also in line to be hosted as well. Likewise, travel distances that may leave players fatigued are also a concern. Therefore, the gap gives players enough rest.

A quick overview of the schedule for the soccer games in the Paris Olympics

For the men’s category, the group stages will run from Wednesday, July 24 to Tuesday, July 30. As for the knockout rounds, Saturday, August 3 will see all the quarterfinals being held on the very same day at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m., while the semifinals will take place on Tuesday, August 6 at noon and 3 p.m. Bronze medal game is on Friday, August 9, 9 a.m. Here are the participating teams and the groups in which they are in:

Group A: France, United States, Guinea, New Zealand

Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Ukraine, Iraq

Group C: Uzbekistan, Spain, Egypt, Dominican Republic

Group D: Japan, Paraguay, Mali, Israel

For the women’s category, the group stages will take place from Thursday, July 25 to Wednesday, July 31. Winners from the group stage will head toward the knockout stages where all four quarterfinals will take on Saturday, August 3 at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Simultaneously, the two semifinals will take place on Tuesday, August 6 which will be played at Noon and 3 p.m. The match for the bronze medal will take place on Friday, August 9 at 9 a.m.

Group A: France, Colombia, Canada, and New Zealand

Group B: USWNT, Zambia, Germany, and Australia

Group C: Spain, Japan, Nigeria, and Brazil

Both finals will take place on August 10, with the men’s one at 9 a.m. and the women’s one at 11 a.m.