The European Qualifiers for men's football competitions at the 1988 Summer Olympics to be held in Seoul.
At the end, five countries qualified including West Germany, Italy, Sweden, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia.
[1] All participants were split in five groups of five teams with winners of each qualify for the Olympics.
Seven football nations that did not participate included four team of British islands (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) that refused to form the unified Great Britain team required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Malta (never fielded its team previously), Luxembourg (not fielding in 1980s), and Albania (political restrictions since 1972).
[1] Turkey and Eastern Bloc nations such as East Germany, Poland and the Soviet Union, that boycotted the 1984 Olympics football tournament in Los Angeles, returned to the Olympic competition.