[6][7] Great Britain qualified for that tournament, as England secured one of the top three places among European teams at the 2019 World Cup.

Due to London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the United Kingdom had the right to enter a team in the football tournament as host nation.

[14][15] As England had reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, Great Britain had qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

[19] That announcement angered the other British football associations, who claimed not to have been consulted on the decision, but the SFA admitted that it would have no grounds for preventing Scottish players from competing in the team.

[22] Fleeting's teammate for club and country Kim Little took the opposite view: "I don't see why anyone would want to stop a player from playing at a massive tournament like the Olympics, it's the biggest sporting event ever.

"[14] Fellow Scots Rachel Corsie and Jen Beattie also expressed interest,[23] as well as Everton's Welsh winger Gwennan Harries.

"[28] Great Britain were placed in Group E for the Olympic tournament prior to the draw, with their first two matches due to be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

[30] Two days after the draw, it was announced that Great Britain's single warm-up game prior to the start of the tournament would be against Sweden at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough on 20 July.

[37] In June 2013, while giving evidence to the House of Lords' Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee, the Football Association indicated that they would be prepared to run women's teams at future Olympic tournaments subject to one of the home nations meeting the qualification criteria (i.e. being one of the top three European nations at the Women's World Cup).

[6] The third-place finish England secured at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup would have qualified Great Britain for the Olympics.

[50] While in Japan, Great Britain eventually managed to play a closed-doors training match a week prior to their opening group game, reportedly beating New Zealand 3–0 at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium on 14 July.

Unlike 2020, European qualification was not based on the World Cup (in which England finished runners-up) but on the inaugural edition of the Nations League.

[55] Team GB were eliminated from qualifying contention after England finished as runners-up to the Netherlands on goal difference in the Nations League group.

[9] The IOC governing body prohibits the use of any crests attributed to specific football associations or federations as they are seen to represent separate commercial interests rather than the nations.

The crest features the head of a lion, a traditional animal in British heraldry that forms part of the Royal coat of arms.