The football competition at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics took place at the Wutaishan Stadium and the Jiangning Sports Center, both located in Nanjing, China, between 14–27 August 2014.

Players must be 15 years old (born between 1 January and 31 December 1999) to be eligible to participate.

[2] One team from each continental confederation participated in each tournament.

[3][4] The same country may not participate in both the boys' and girls' tournament.

Teams may qualify through preliminary competitions, or be nominated for participation by their confederation, with the invited teams ratified by FIFA during their meeting in Zürich on 3–4 October 2013.