Originally, it was to be held from 23 July to 8 August 2020, but the Summer Olympics were postponed to the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Together with the women's competition, the 2020 Summer Olympics football tournament was held at six stadiums in six cities in Japan.

[15] In late June 2021 the International Olympic Committee and FIFA announced that all 22 players of each team would be available for selection before each match.

[17] In June 2020, FIFA approved the use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the tournament.

The draw for the tournament was held on 21 April 2021, 10:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.

[21] It was conducted by Sarai Bareman, FIFA chief women's football officer, while Samantha Johnson presented the ceremony.

[23] The hosts Japan were automatically seeded into Pot 1 and assigned to position A1, while the remaining teams were seeded into their respective pots based on their results in the last five Olympics (more recent tournaments weighted more heavily), with bonus points awarded to confederation champions.