[1] In addition to the Olympic host city of Tokyo, matches were also played in Kashima, Saitama, Sapporo, Rifu and Yokohama.

A total of six venues were used:[2] The Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions ratified the distribution of spots at their meeting on 14 September 2017.

[8] For the first time, as per an agreement between the four British football associations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), Great Britain qualified for the Olympics through England's performance in the World Cup (a procedure already successfully employed by Team GB in field hockey and rugby sevens).

Scotland also participated in the World Cup but, under the agreement whereby the highest ranked home nation is nominated to compete for the purposes of Olympic qualification, their performance was not taken into account.

[16][17] The draws for the men's and women's tournaments was held on 21 April 2021, 10:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.