Harvard Gears Up for Olympic Soccer

The University is gearing up to host the first round of the Olympic soccer games which will take place in Harvard Stadium this July.

Approximately 100 athletes from Czechoslovakia, Canada, Iraq, and Cameroon will live under tight security at Quincy House from July 14 until the games end on August 3.

To protect the players, the Athletic Department will fence off a path from the Dillon Field House to Harvard Stadium and access to Quincy House will be limited to residents. Both the Quincy House tutors and the athletes will need to show special identification badges to be allowed in the courtyard.

Despite threats by Iran against the Iraqi Olympic team, Iraq will receive to more protection than the given to the other teams.

The Athletic Department chose Quincy House to host the players because it is close to the playing fields and has its own kitchen, department spokesmen said yesterday. Many of the other Houses were not considered because they are undergoing restoration work.

The housing arrangements will not affect the summer school because no students will be housed in Quincy House.

Anxious Host

Quincy House Master David A. Aloian '49 said he was anxious about having the athletes as house guests.

"There may be a real mess in the kitchen if they all want their own national diets," he said.

He added that at Quincy House there are no flying objects allowed in the courtyard. "We intend to enforce that very strictly with these athletes," he said.

The Olympic National Committee chose the four teams to play at Harvard last Wednesday by a draw. The other 12 teams will play their opening rounds at Annapolis, Stanford, or the Rose Bowl.

Although they will live in Annapolis, France and Qatar will travel to Cambridge to play Czechoslovakia.

The winners of these preliminary games will compete in the medal games at the Rose Bowl in August. Czechoslovakia won the gold medal for soccer in 1980.

The teams will play six games starting with opening ceremonies on July 29. Harvard is scheduled to start selling tickets June 1, but this is tentative since the Athletic Department hasn't yet received them form Los Angeles.