2020 In Association Football
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The following are the scheduled events of association football (soccer) for the year 2020 throughout the world. Numerous association football competitions were either postponed or cancelled during the year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On 13 March 2020, FIFA announced that clubs did not have to release players to their national teams during the international windows of March and April 2020, while players also had the option to decline a call-up without any consequences. FIFA also recommended that all international matches during the March and April 2020 windows be postponed. By April 2020 only four nations were still playing association football league matches:
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
,
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
,En el planeta fútbol, solo Nicaragua y Bielorrusia continúan con sus torneos
la-razon.com
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
, and
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
In April 2020, FIFA announced that the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the
2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, later postponed and renamed as the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup before its cancellation, was originally going to be the 7th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's y ...
would be postponed and rescheduled.


Events


Men's youth

* 8–26 January:
2020 AFC U-23 Championship The 2020 AFC U-23 Championship was the fourth edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted men's football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for under-23 national teams. A total of ...
in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: * 17 February – 5 March: 2020 Arab Cup U-20 in ** : ** : * 19–29 November:
2020 COSAFA Under-17 Championship The 2020 COSAFA Under-17 Championship is the 9th edition of the COSAFA U-17 Championship, a football tournament organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) involving teams from Southern Africa for players aged 17 ...
in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: * 20–29 November: 2020 WAFU U-20 Tournament in ** : ** : * 22 November – 2 December:
2020 CECAFA U-20 Championship The 2020 CECAFA U-20 Championship took place from 22 November to 2 December 2020 in Arusha, Tanzania. This competition served as the CECAFA qualifiers for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. The two finalists of the tournament represented CECAF ...
in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: * 3–13 December: 2020 COSAFA U-20 Cup in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: * 13–28 December: 2020 UNAF U-20 Tournament in ** : ** : ** : * 15–23 December: 2020 UNIFFAC U-20 Championship in


Women's national teams

* 4–10 March: 2020 Turkish Women's Cup in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: *4–11 March: 2020 Algarve Cup in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th:


CAF

* 3–14 November: 2020 COSAFA Women's Championship in **: **:


Women's youth

* 22 February – 8 March:
2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth association football, football championship organized by CONCACAF for the women's under-20 national teams ...
in ** : ** : * 4–14 November: 2020 COSAFA U-17 Women's Championship in **: **:


Men's clubs


UEFA

* 17 September 2019 – 25 August 2020: 2019–20 UEFA Youth League (final in
Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...
) ** :
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
** : Benfica


News

* 29 January – In each team's opening match of CONCACAF Olympic qualifying,
Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a retired Canadian professional Association football, soccer player who most recently played as a Forward (association football), forward for the Portland Thorns FC, Portland Thorns of the ...
scored two goals in Canada's 11–0 win over
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...
. Her second goal was the 185th of her international career, giving her sole possession of the record for international goals (for either men or women) previously held by the USA's
Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired Association football, soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on ...
. * 13 March – FIFA announced that clubs did not have to release players to their national teams during the international windows of March and April 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, players also had the option to decline a call-up without any consequences. * 3 April – FIFA announces that the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, scheduled to be held in Panama and Costa Rica in August, and the
2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, later postponed and renamed as the 2021 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup before its cancellation, was originally going to be the 7th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's y ...
, scheduled to be held in India in November, would be postponed and rescheduled. * 20 April – Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, only four top-tier football leagues were actively playing as of this date:
2020 Ýokary Liga 2020 Ýokary Liga season was the 28th edition of the top tier professional Yokary Liga football annual competition in Turkmenistan administered by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan. edition of the top tier professional Yokary Liga football ...
,
2020 Tajikistan Higher League The 2020 Ligai Olii Tojikiston ( Tajik: 2020 Лигаи Олии Тоҷикистон, ), or 2020 Tajikistan Higher League is the 29th season of Ligai Olii Tojikiston, Tajikistan's top division of association football. The season began on 5 April ...
,
Belarusian Premier League The Belarusian Premier League (, ''Vyšejšaja Liha'' or ''Vysheyshaya Liga''; ; "Top League"), also called the BETERA Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Belarus and the highest level of the B ...
and
Liga Primera de Nicaragua The Liga Primera de Nicaragua is the top division of football in Nicaragua, organized by the Federación Nicaragüense de Fútbol. It was created in 1933. The league is played in two parts, the ''Torneo de Apertura'' from August through Novembe ...
.


Club continental champions


Men


Women


National leagues


UEFA


AFC


CAF


CONCACAF


CONMEBOL


OFC


Non-FIFA


Domestic cups


UEFA


AFC


CAF


CONCACAF


CONMEBOL


OFC


Non-FIFA


Women's leagues


UEFA


AFC


CAF


CONCACAF


CONMEBOL


OFC


Women's domestic cups


UEFA


AFC


CAF


CONCACAF


CONMEBOL


OFC


Second, third, fourth, and fifth leagues


CONCACAF


Deaths

*5 January –
Hans Tilkowski Hans Tilkowski (12 July 1935 – 5 January 2020) was a German football player and manager. A goalkeeper. he played for West Germany, and was a member of the team that lost the 1966 World Cup final to England. Career Born 1935 in Husen, Dortmun ...
, German football goalkeeper and manager (b. 1935) * 6 January –
Luís Morais Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
, Brazilian football player (b. 1930) * 7 January –
Khamis Al-Dosari Khamis Al-Owairan Al-Dossari () (8 September 1973 – 7 January 2020) was a Saudi Arabian footballer. He played most of his career for Al-Hilal and Al Ittihad. Al-Owairan played for the Saudi Arabia national football team and was a participant ...
, Saudi Arabian footballer (b. 1973) * 17 January –
Pietro Anastasi Pietro Anastasi (; 7 April 1948 – 17 January 2020), nicknamed by fans, was an Italian footballer who played mainly in the role of a forward. He started his professional club career in Italy with Varese in 1966, helping the club to achieve p ...
, Italian footballer (b. 1948) * 21 January – Theodor Wagner, Austrian footballer and manager (b. 1927) * 24 January –
Juan José Pizzuti Juan José Pizzuti (9 May 1927 – 24 January 2020) was an Argentine football player and manager. A striker, he enjoyed his most notable successes as player and manager with Racing Club de Avellaneda. Pizzuti was born in the Barracas neighbour ...
, Argentine footballer and manager (b. 1927) * 29 January – Keith Nelson, New Zealand footballer (b. 1947) * 2 February – Hugo Bravo, Chilean footballer (b. 1944) * 16 February –
Harry Gregg Harry Gregg (27 October 1932 – 16 February 2020) was a Northern Irish professional footballer and manager. A goalkeeper, he played for Manchester United during the reign of Sir Matt Busby, with a total of 247 appearances for the club. He was ...
, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1932) * 18 March –
Joaquín Peiró Joaquín Peiró Lucas (29 January 1936 – 18 March 2020) was a Spanish football attacking midfielder and manager. After excelling at Atlético Madrid – where he would start and end his professional career, amassing La Liga totals of 166 game ...
, Spanish football player (b. 1936) * 19 March –
Peter Whittingham Peter Michael Whittingham (; 8 September 1984 – 18 March 2020) was an English professional Association football, footballer. His primary position was as a central midfielder, although he also sometimes operated as a wide midfielder on both the ...
, English footballer (b. 1984) *26 March –
Michel Hidalgo Michel François Hidalgo (; 22 March 1933 – 26 March 2020) was a French professional footballer and manager. He was the head coach of the France national team from 1976 to 1984, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, also reaching ...
, French footballer and manager (b. 1933) * 12 April –
Peter Bonetti Peter Philip Bonetti (27 September 1941 – 12 April 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars, Dundee United and England. He was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes a ...
, English footballer (b. 1941) * 28 April – Michael Robinson, English-Irish footballer and TV commentator (b. 1958) * 12 May –
Radim Novák Radim Novák (2 April 1978 – 12 May 2020) was a Czech football player and coach who played for Ústí nad Labem as a goalkeeper between 2005 and 2015. Playing career Novák came up through the youth teams of TJ Skorotice and Jablonec. As an ...
, Czech football goalkeeper (b. 1978) * 28 June –
Marián Čišovský Marián Čišovský (2 November 1979 – 28 June 2020) was a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Čišovský played for his home team Chemlon Humenné until 1999, when he transferred to Inter Bratislav ...
, Slovak footballer (b. 1979) * 21 August – Pedro Nájera, Mexican footballer (b. 1929) *21 August – Hammadi Agrebi, Tunisian footballer (b. 1951) *8 September –
Alfred Riedl Alfred Riedl (2 November 1949 – 8 September 2020) was an Austrian football player and manager. As a player he was a striker. Playing career Club career Riedl first played for Austria Wien from 1967 to 1972, before leaving Austria to play f ...
, Austrian football player and manager (b. 1949) *17 September – Ricardo Ciciliano, Colombian footballer (b. 1976) *22 September –
Agne Simonsson Tore Klas Agne Simonsson (19 October 1935 – 22 September 2020) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a striker. Beginning his career with Örgryte IS in 1953, he went on to represent Real Madrid and Real Sociedad in La Liga in ...
, Swedish footballer and manager (b. 1935) *12 October – Carlton Chapman, Indian footballer (b. 1971) *20 October –
Bruno Martini Bruno Ludovic Jean Roger Martini (25 January 1962 – 20 October 2020) was a French professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His professional career was closely associated with Auxerre, for which he played 13 years. Having won more t ...
, French footballer (b. 1962) *30 October –
Nobby Stiles Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English professional footballer. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. I ...
, English footballer and manager (b. 1942) *15 November –
Ray Clemence Raymond Neal Clemence (5 August 1948 – 15 November 2020) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is one of the few players to have made over 1,000 career ...
, English football goalkeeper (b. 1948) *21 November –
Ricky Yacobi Ricky Yacobi (born Ricky; 12 March 1963 – 21 November 2020) was an Indonesian football player. He usually played as a striker and was one of the most prominent Indonesian footballers of the 1980s. His nickname was the "Indonesian Paul Breitne ...
, Indonesian footballer (b. 1963) *25 November –
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...
, Argentine football player and manager (b. 1960) *29 November –
Papa Bouba Diop Papa Bouba Diop (28 January 197829 November 2020) was a Senegalese professional footballer. His preferred position was as a defensive midfielder, but he could also play as a centre-back, where he played at Lens. Diop was considered a physicall ...
, Senegalese footballer (b. 1978) *9 December –
Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...
, Italian footballer (b. 1956) *14 December –
Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...
, French football manager (b. 1947) *31 December –
Tommy Docherty Thomas Henderson Docherty (24 April 1928 – 31 December 2020), commonly known as The Doc, was a Scottish football player and manager. Docherty played for several clubs, most notably Preston North End, and represented Scotland 25 times bet ...
, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1928)


References


External links

{{commons category Association football by year