The association football (soccer) tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics started on July 29 and ended on August 11. It was the first Olympic soccer competition in which professionals were allowed. Until then, the amateur-only rule had heavily favored socialist countries from Eastern Europe whose players were professionals in all but name. However, as agreed with FIFA to preserve the primacy of the World Cup, the Olympic competition was restricted to players with no more than five "A" caps at tournament start, regardless of age.