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Los Angeles may be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics but, when it comes to soccer, the tournament is going on tour.
LA28 organizers confirmed this week that Olympic football (soccer, for us Americans) will be staged across six additional U.S. cities during the group and knockout rounds, making one of the Games’ most popular sports a coast-to-coast event. Matches will be played in metropolitan areas including New York, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San José and San Diego, before heading back to Southern California for the medal rounds.
The men’s gold medal match will take place on July 28, 2028, followed by the women’s final on July 29, both at the Rose Bowl Stadium, a venue that will become the first in history to host Olympic events across three different Games.
Each of the newly announced host cities will bring a soccer-ready stadium into the mix. New York’s matches will be held at the future home of New York City FC, a purpose-built stadium that’s currently under construction with plans to open next year. Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San Jose and San Diego will all use existing venues that already host Major League Soccer and professional women’s teams.
LA28 worked alongside Soccer United Marketing, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, to evaluate stadiums nationwide, focusing on international-level competition standards, community engagement and minimizing the need for new construction, which was part of a broader commitment that the 2028 Games wouldn’t build new permanent venues solely for the Olympics.
Organizers plan to structure match progression from east to west as teams advance, which will reduce long-haul travel and allow players better recovery between games. LA28 and the International Olympic Committee are also considering an extended competition window, with some preliminary matches potentially beginning before the Opening Ceremony.
The 2028 soccer tournament will also mark a major Olympic first. For the first time in Games history, more women’s teams than men’s will compete in Olympic football, as the women’s field expands to 16 teams while the men’s tournament shifts to 12. LA28 will be the first Olympics where every team sport features at least as many women’s teams as men’s.
The full match schedule and stadium assignments will be announced ahead of the first Olympic ticket release in April 2026. Registration for the LA28 Olympic Ticket Draw is open now through March 18.