Abuja – The Rio 2016 Olympic Games got underway on Wednesday with a women’s football match played in front of a sparse Olympic Stadium crowd.
Sweden won 1-0 against South Africa in the competition’s opening game before host nation Brazil beat China 3-0.
Plenty of empty seats could be seen in the 60,000 venue at kick-off, although more fans arrived before Brazil’s game.
The football tournament has started two days before Friday’s opening ceremony because of a packed schedule.
Sweden, who are ranked sixth in the world, earned a narrow win when Nilla Fischer bundled in a second-half goal after a goalkeeping mistake.
Brazil, who lost at the quarter-final stage of the London 2012 Games, were comfortable winners with goals from Monica, Andressa Alves and Cristiane.
Striker Marta – who did not add to her 102 goals in 104 caps – said: “Scoring three times against a team like China, with all the pressure we had, I think it’s super-perfect.”
Canada’s Janine Beckie scored after just 20 seconds against Australia, the fastest goal in Olympic women’s football history, as they won 2-0.
The U.S. are widely considered to be the favourites to win the competition – which has no age limits.
This was after claiming gold in London 2012 and also winning last year’s World Cup.
The men’s competition, which is contested by under-23 teams, starts on Thursday.
