The auditorium of the Argentinian capital’s City Hall provided the setting for the official draw for the men’s and women’s Youth Olympic Futsal Tournaments Buenos Aires 2018 on Friday, with the 20 teams taking part in the two competitions finding out who they will be facing in the group phases.

The draw ceremony was conducted by Jaime Yarza, Head of FIFA Tournaments, and Marion Mayer-Vorfelder, Head of FIFA’s Olympic Football Tournament Group. Also taking part were Roberto Ayala, the former captain of Argentina’s men’s national football team, and Argentina women’s futsal international Sol Dominguez.

The two competitions will kick off on 7 October, with the women’s coming to an end on 17 October and the men’s a day later.

Men’s tournament group draw

Women’s tournament group draw

What they said “It’s fantastic that women’s futsal is a part of these Games, especially as it’s an U-18 tournament. It really is the future and it couldn’t be better in terms of developing the discipline. The sport has enjoyed a boom in Argentina and around the world, though it does take longer for it to earn proper recognition. I’m surprised by some of the teams.” Sol Dominguez, Argentina women’s futsal international

“It’s vital that the sport keeps growing and that these Games give it a boost. The work that’s gone on behind the scenes for so many years is paying off now. This is also a test for Argentina, to prove that it can host more events like this in the future and that it can bring a smile to people’s faces.” Roberto Ayala

“It’s really important for national futsal teams to be taking part in the Youth Olympic Games, and it’s a truly valuable experience for Argentina. We’ve just won the men’s Futsal World Cup and we’re achieving a lot of growth thanks to a very competitive league that plays a big role in our country. These Games are very important in terms of leadership of the sport too, and it’s also vital that women’s futsal is represented too. We have a wonderful opportunity and we have to enjoy it and make the most of it.” Claudio Tapia, president of the Argentinian Football Association

“We have a great opportunity: to work with FIFA and our national federation to showcase futsal, which is growing so fast around the world. Argentina is hosting its first Olympic Games in 43 days' time and it is an occasion that has so much to offer for the country.” Leandro Larrosa, CEO Buenos Aires 2018

The lowdown Buenos Aires 2018 will be the third Youth Olympic Games (YOG), after Singapore 2010 and Nanjing 2014, but the first to feature futsal. At the two previous YOGs, FIFA was represented by football.

This is the first time that Buenos Aires will host an Olympic event. The men’s and women’s futsal competitions will be staged at two venues in the Argentinian capital: the Futsal Main Stadium (Tecnopolis) and the CeNARD.

In the women's tournament the first games on the match schedule are Dominican Republic-Cameroon and Spain-Bolivia, while the men’s tournament opens up with Panama-Iraq and Costa Rica-Brazil.