Football, rugby matches at Paris Olympics to start Wednesday

Several football, rugby matches to be held ahead of Friday's opening ceremony

Football and rugby matches at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will begin Wednesday ahead of Friday's opening ceremony. The Argentina vs. Morocco at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne, and the Uzbekistan vs. Spain at Paris' Parc des Princes, both to kick-off at 1300GMT, will be the first football matches of the summer games. Rugby sevens will also start with the match between Australia and Samoa at 1330GMT at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis. The Paris 2024 Olympics will start on Friday with an exceptional opening ceremony across the River Seine. It will be the first time that an opening ceremony of the Olympics will not be held at a stadium. Israel, after they were allowed to play at the Paris 2024 Games despite the country's ongoing war on Gaza, will face Mali in a Wednesday football match at Parc des Princes. In previous months, there were global calls to ban Israel from the Olympics. From rights groups to athletes, demands are growing for a boycott of Israel over the atrocities taking place in the Gaza Strip, which have led to the death of more than 39,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7 last year.   Wednesday's football and rugby fixtures: Football: Argentina vs. Morocco (Geoffroy-Guichard) Uzbekistan vs. Spain (Parc des Princes) Guinea vs. New Zealand (Nice) Egypt vs. Dominican Republic (La Beaujoire) Iraq vs. Ukraine (Lyon) Japan vs. Paraguay (Bordeaux) France vs. US (Marseille) Mali vs. Israel (Parc des Princes)   Rugby Sevens Australia vs. Samoa (Stade de France) Argentina vs. Kenya (Stade de France) France vs. US (Stade de France) Fiji vs. Uruguay (Stade de France) Ireland vs. South Africa (Stade de France) New Zealand vs. Japan (Stade de France) Australia vs. Kenya (Stade de France) Argentina vs. Samoa (Stade de France) France vs. Uruguay (Stade de France) Fiji vs. US (Stade de France) Ireland vs. Japan (Stade de France) New Zealand vs. South Africa (Stade de France)