Olympic action coming to Utah, with soccer qualifying awarded to Rio Tinto Stadium

(Scott G Winterton/Deseret News)


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Salt Lake City — Olympic action is back in Utah in 2015, after a report from ESPN700's Bill Riley indicated that the Olympic Men's Soccer Qualifying Tournament Semifinals and Finals have been awarded to Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.

@ESPN700 has learned that CONCACAF has awarded the Olympic U-23 Semifinals and Finals to Rio Tinto Stadium this October 10th/13th. #RSL — Bill Riley (@espn700bill) May 14, 2015

Details are sparse until CONCACAF, the sport's North American organizing body, officially announces more details, but the semifinals will take place on Oct. 10, with finals on Oct. 13. The qualifying tournament will begin on Oct. 1 in Kansas City, with the United States, Canada, Mexico, three Central American and two Caribbean nations competing.

The top two teams will automatically qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, meaning that the semifinals may actually be more important than the finals of this tournament. The tournament's third-place finisher will travel to Rio de Janeiro in March 2016 to play for an entry spot to the Olympic tournament.

The tournament's semifinals, final and third-place match will all take place in Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.

Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning commented, "We are pleased again to host a significant international qualifier at Rio Tinto Stadium and appreciate CONCACAF awarding these games for our great fans."

Olympic soccer is largely contested by players under 23 years old, deferring to the FIFA World Cup for the sport's largest international tournament. Olympic teams may bring up to three over-23 players to play in their Olympic bids. Mexico won the 2012 Olympic tournament, while the United States failed to qualify after a poor performance in 2011 qualifying.

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Andy Larsen

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