The Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games will be staged in London on Friday, by which time the men's and women's soccer competitions will already be well underway.

Britain's women's team hosted New Zealand Wednesday at the Millennium Stadium on in Cardiff, Wales, in the first Olympic soccer game. A total of 28 teams -- 16 men's, 12 women's -- are competing for medals, and LOCOG, the London organizing committee, decided not to stage the early soccer matches in London to leave that stage open for Friday's ceremony that includes lighting of the Olympic Torch.

Cardiff is one of six venues being used for Olympic soccer.  Eleven Olympic matches in both the men and women's competitions, including the men's bronze medal match Aug. 10, will be held in Cardiff and Welshman Ryan Giggs, captain of the men's team, says he is looking forward to playing in his home town against Uruguay Aug. 1.

"To play in the Olympics in the city I was born in is something I could only dream of, and although the different FAs may have a view about the Olympics, we are all delighted to be taking part and want to win a medal," he said.