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 ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. 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,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

,En el planeta fútbol, solo Nicaragua y Bielorrusia continúan con sus torneos
la-razon.com

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

In April 2020, FIFA announced that the

2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2020 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, was originally going to be the 10th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associati ...

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 football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. ...

in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: * 17 February – 5 March: 2020 Arab Cup U-20 in ** : ** : * 19–29 November: 2020 COSAFA Under-17 Championship 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 The 2020 UNAF U-20 Tournament was the 13th edition of the UNAF U-20 Tournament. The tournament took place in Tunisia, from 13 to 28 December 2020. This tournament serves as a qualification event for the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. The champions an ...

in ** : ** : ** : * 15–23 December: 2020 UNIFFAC U-20 Championship in

Women's national teams

* 4–10 March:

2020 Turkish Women's Cup The 2020 Turkish Women's Cup was the third edition of the Turkish Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Turkey. It took place from 4 to 10 March 2020. Teams Venezuela withdrew before the tournament and was r ...

in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th: *4–11 March:

2020 Algarve Cup The 2020 Algarve Cup was the 27th edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place from 4-11 March 2020. The final was scratched and Germany was awarded the Algarve Cup as Italy ha ...

in ** : ** : ** : ** 4th:

CAF

* 3–14 November:

2020 COSAFA Women's Championship The 2020 COSAFA Women's Championship is the eighth edition of the COSAFA Women's Championship, a women's international football tournament for national teams organised by COSAFA, teams from Southern Africa. It takes place from 3 to 14 November i ...

in **: **:

Women's Youth

* 22 February – 8 March: 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship 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 The 2019–20 UEFA Youth League was the seventh season of the UEFA Youth League, a European youth club football competition organised by UEFA. Following the round of 16, the competition was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in ...

(final in

Nyon Nyon (; outdated German: or ; outdated Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Ge ...

) ** :

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

** : 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 Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic g ...

scored two goals in Canada's 11–0 win over

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

. 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 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 the U.S. women's nati ...

. * 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

, players also had the option to decline a call-up without any consequences. * 3 April – FIFA announces that the

, scheduled to be held in Panama and Costa Rica in August, and the

, scheduled to be held in India in November, would be postponed and rescheduled. * 20 April – Due to the

, only four top-tier football leagues were actively playing as of this date:

2020 Ýokary Liga The 2020 Turkmenistan Higher League (Ýokary Liga) season is the 28th season Turkmenistan's professional football league, the highest football league competition in Turkmenistan. Altyn Asyr are the defending champions from the 2019 campaign. Sea ...

2020 Tajikistan Higher League The 2020 Ligai Olii Tojikiston ('' Tajik: 2020 Лигаи Олии Тоҷикистон''), ( fa, لیگ عالی تاجیکستان ۲۰۲۰), or 2020 Tajikistan Higher League is the 29th season of Ligai Olii Tojikiston, Tajikistan's top divisio ...

Belarusian Premier League The Belarusian Premier League or the Vyšejšaja Liha or the Vysheyshaya Liga ( be, Вышэйшая ліга, russian: Высшая лига, "Top League") is the top division of professional football in Belarus, and is organized by the Belarus ...

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. It is played in two parts, Torneo de Apertura from August through November and Torneo de C ...

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

Deaths

*5 January ** Hans Tilkowski, German football goalkeeper and manager (b. 1935) * 6 January – Luís Morais, Brazilian football player (b. 1930) * 7 January ** Khamis Al-Dosari, Saudi Arabian footballer (b. 1973) * 17 January –

Pietro Anastasi Pietro Anastasi (; 7 April 1948 – 17 January 2020), nicknamed ''Petruzzu 'u turcu'' () 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, help ...

, Italian footballer (b. 1948) * 21 January –

Theodor Wagner Theodor "Turl" Wagner (6 August 1927 – 21 January 2020) was an Austrian footballer who played as a striker. International career He made his debut for Austria in a November 1946 friendly match against Switzerland and was a participant at the ...

, 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) * 16 February –

Harry Gregg Henry 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 w ...

, 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, 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 French national team from 1976 to 1984, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, also reaching th ...

, 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) * 28 June –

Marián Čišovský Marián Čišovský (2 November 1979 – 28 June 2020) was a Slovak football defender, player of Czech side Viktoria Plzeň.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. His last coaching role was with the Indonesia national football team. Playing career Club career He first played fo ...

, Austrian football player and manager (b. 1949) *17 September –

Ricardo Ciciliano Ricardo Manuel Ciciliano Bustillo (September 23, 1976 – September 17, 2020) was a Colombian football midfielder. Career Ciciliano was born in Barranquilla. From 2006, Ciciliano played at Millonarios where he achieved several remarkable fea ...

, Colombian footballer (b. 1976) *22 September –

Agne Simonsson Tore Klas Agne Simonsson (19 October 1935 – 22 September 2020) was a Swedish 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 the early 1960 ...

, Swedish footballer and manager (b. 1935) *12 October –

Carlton Chapman Carlton Anthony Chapman (13 April 197112 October 2020) was an Indian professional Association football, footballer who also served as technical director of Quartz S.C., Quartz International Football Academy. As player, Chapman played as a midfi ...

, 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 footballer and manager. 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. In ...

, English footballer and manager (b. 1942) *15 November –

Ray Clemence Raymond Neal Clemence, (5 August 1948 – 15 November 2020) was an England international football goalkeeper and part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s. He is one of only 31 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances, and holds the ...

, English football goalkeeper (b. 1948) *21 November –

Ricky Yacobi Ricky Yacobi (born Ricky bin Yacub; 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 Pa ...

, Indonesian footballer (b. 1963) *25 November –

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...

, Argentine footballer player and manager (b. 1960 ) *29 November – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer (b. 1978) *9 December –

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward. He led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, and the Golden ...

, 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, U ...

, 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 betw ...

, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1928)

References

External links

{{commons category Association football by year