For these Games, the women competed in an 8-team tournament. The teams were grouped into two pools of four teams each for a round-robin preliminary round. The top two teams in each group advanced to a single elimination bracket.
A total of eight women's teams qualified to compete at the games. The top three teams at the South American and Central American and Caribbean Games qualified, along with the host nation Canada.[3] The United States and Uruguay competed against one another in a home/away playoff for the last spot in the tournament. The fourth placed team in the Central American and Caribbean Games both declined to compete in the respective tournaments.[4]
Note: As Brazil were already qualified for the olympics as hosts, the qualification slot went to Argentina instead and Mexico qualified for the Olympic Qualification Tournament instead of Argentina.