The men's qualification for association football tournament at the 1956 Summer Olympics was the first time the qualifying round was done on a home-and-away basis.
5 Republic of China withdrew after the organizing committee ruled they had to play under the FIFA flag during the first leg, due to concerns over social and political unrest in Indonesia relating to the use of the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag.
Before the official draw for the final tournament on September 1, 1956, Poland withdrew and was replaced by Great Britain.
After the draw, Hungary also withdrew: its place was offered to South Korea, however South Korea declined due to financial reasons.
Subsequently, South Vietnam and Turkey both withdrew, while the People's Republic of China and Egypt boycotted the Olympics.