The men's football tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held in Rio de Janeiro and five other cities in Brazil from 4 to 20 August 2016.

In March 2016, it was agreed that the competition would be part of IFAB's trial to allow a fourth substitute to be made during extra time.

[17] The draw for the tournament was held on 14 April 2016, 10:30 BRT (UTC−3), at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

[19] The teams were seeded into four pots based on their performances in the five previous Olympics (with more recent tournaments weighted higher), plus bonus points awarded to the six confederation qualifying champions (Japan, Nigeria, Mexico, Argentina, Fiji, Sweden).

[17] On 18 March 2016, the FIFA Executive Committee agreed that the competition would be part of the International Football Association Board's trial to allow a fourth substitute to be made during extra time.