South Africa's men and women's football teams might not have qualified for the Olympic Games, but the two tournaments promise to be extremely entertaining and wide open.

Listen to this article 6 min Listen to this article 6 min The football tournaments of the Olympics promise to be entertaining and captivating - even though there are some names missing from both the men and women's events at the games. From the men's roster, the most glaring absentee is Brazil.

In the women's draw, reigning European champions England are absent from the 12 medal hopefuls which have gathered in France for the 2024 showpiece.

Despite being the most successful men's football side at the Games - with a total of seven medals (two gold, three silver and two bronze) since the first Games football tournament in 1900 - Brazil miss out on defending the Olympic title they won at Tokyo 2020. They were also victorious on home soil in 2016 during the Rio-hosted edition.

The Brazilians' absence has left nations such as hosts France, plus two-time Olympic gold medallists in the event, Argentina, as frontrunners for the coveted gold medal.

Spain cannot be discounted either, and the country's youngsters will be especially motivated after seeing the senior side romp to victory at the 2024 European Championship a few weeks ago.

Despite the men's football competition at the Olympics...