Your essential compendium of dates for the biggest football competitions in the world this year
Football is a way of life for many people with some fanatics tailoring their days and weeks according to what games may be on at a given time.
To help you plan your football consumption, Goal has all the key dates of the biggest football competitions in Europe, including the Premier League, Champions League, Euro 2020 and more.
Contents
(Click on the competition to see a run-down of the schedule dates)
- Premier League
- English Championship
- Carabao Cup
- FA Cup
- La Liga
- Copa del Rey
- Bundesliga
- DFB Pokal
- Serie A
- Coppa Italia
- Ligue 1
- Coupe de France
- Champions League
- Europa League
- FIFA Club World Cup
- UEFA Women’s Champions League
- Euro 2020
- Summer Olympics
- UEFA Conference League
- UEFA Super Cup
- World Cup 2022 qualifiers
- UEFA Nations League
- Transfer window dates
Premier League
The 2020-21 Premier League season began on September 12, 2020 and it will conclude on May 23, 2021.
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The 2021-22 Premier League season is due to get under way in August 2021, running until May 2022.
Latest Premier League fixtures and results.
English Championship
The 2020-21 Championship season began on Friday September 11, 2020 and the ordinary season (ie Gameweek 46) finishes on the weekend of May 8, 2021.
Championship play-offs take place after the normal season schedule concludes and the play-off final will be played on May 29, 30 or 31, 2021.
The semi-final matches will be played in the week or two before the final.
The 2021-22 Championship season should begin in August 2021 and conclude in May 2022.
Latest Championship fixtures and results.
Carabao Cup
The 2020-21 Carabao Cup began in August 2020 and the final will be played on April 25, 2021.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| First round | August 29, September 4, 5, 6, 2020 |
| Second round | September 15, 16, 17, 2020 |
| Third round | September 22, 23, 24, 2020 |
| Fourth round | September 29, 30, October 1, 2020 |
| Quarter-finals | December 22, 23, 2020 |
| Semi-finals | January 5, 6, 2021 |
| Final | April 25, 2021 |
When the new season kicks off, the 2021-22 Carabao Cup is expected to revert to normal programming, beginning in August 2021 and ending in February 2022.
FA Cup
The 2020-21 FA Cup kicked off in August 2020 and the final will be played on May 15, 2021.
Here are the key dates for the 2020-21 competition:
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Qualifying rounds | August 31 – November 4, 2020 |
| First round | November 6, 7, 8, 9, 29 2020 |
| Second round | November 27, 28, 29, 30, 2020 |
| Third round | January 8, 9, 10, 11, 2021 |
| Fourth round | January 22, 23, 24, 25, 2021 |
| Fifth round | February 8, 9, 10, 11, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | March 19, 20, 21, 22, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | April 16-18, 2021 |
| Final | May 15, 2021 |
The 2021-22 FA Cup will follow a similar schedule, beginning in August 2021 and ending in May 2022.
La Liga
September 12, 2020 was the date of the opening fixtures of the 2020-21 Liga season in Spain and it will end on May 23, 2021.
As with other European leagues, the 2021-22 La Liga season is expected to kick off in August 2021 and run until May 2022.
Latest La Liga fixtures and results.
Copa del Rey
The 2020-21 Copa del Rey kicked off on November 11, 2020 and it will end with the final on April 18, 2021.
Key dates can be seen below.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Preliminary round | November 11, 2020 |
| First round | December 15, 16, 17, 23, 30, 2020 |
| Second round | January 5, 6, 7, 2021 |
| Last 32 | January 16, 17, 20, 21, 2021 |
| Last 16 | January 27, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | February 3, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | February 10, March 3, 2021 |
| Final | April 18, 2021 |
Bundesliga
The 2020-21 Bundesliga season began on September 18, 2020 and it will come to an end on May 22, 2021.
The 2021-22 Bundesliga campaign should revert to normal time schedules, kicking off in August 2021 and ending in May 2022.
Latest Bundesliga fixtures and results.
DFB Pokal
The 2020-21 DFB Pokal began on September 2020 and it will conclude with the final on May 13, 2021.
Here are the key dates:
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| First round | September 11 – 14, 2020 |
| Second round | December 22, 23, 2020 |
| Last 16 | February 2, 3, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | March 2, 3, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | May 1, 2, 2021 |
| Final | May 13, 2021 |
Serie A
The 2020-21 Italian Serie A season kicked off on September 19, 2020 and it concludes on May 23, 2021.
With no delays currently anticipated, the 2021-22 Serie A season should revert to the usual schedule – beginning in August 2021 and running until May 2022.
Latest Serie A fixtures and results.
Coppa Italia
The 2020-21 Coppa Italia commenced on September 22, 2020 (first stage) and ends with the final on May 19, 2021.
Here are the competition’s key dates.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| First round | September 22, 23, 2020 |
| Second round | September 29, 30, 2020 |
| Third round | October 27, 28, 2020 |
| Fourth round | November 24, 25, 26, 2020 |
| Last 16 | January 16 – 21, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | January 21, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | February 2, 10, 2021 |
| Final | May 19, 2021 |
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 2020-21 began on August 21, 2020 – a month earlier than most of its counterparts in Europe – and it will come to an end on May 23, 2021.
The 2021-22 Ligue 1 season will follow a similar time schedule, beginning in August 2021 and ending in May 2022.
Coupe de France
The 2020-21 Coupe de France began in September 2020, but was paused in October of that year due to Covid-19 restrictions brought into effect in France.
It was due to recommence in January 2021, but dates remain unclear.
Champions League
The 2020-21 Champions League group stage began on October 20, 2020 and the final will be held on May 29, 2021.
Qualifying rounds for the tournament began on August 8, with the preliminary qualifying round.
Here are the key Champions League 2020-21 dates:
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Group stage draw | October 1, 2020 |
| Group stage | October 20 – December 9, 2020 |
| Last 16 draw | December 14, 2020 |
| Last 16 | February 16, 17, 23, 24 & March 9, 10, 16, 17, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals draw | March 19, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | April 6, 7, 13, 14, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | April 27, 28 & May 4, 5, 2021 |
| Final | May 29, 2021 |
The 2021-22 Champions League is set to kick off in June 2021 (qualifying stages), with the group stage expected to take place between September and December 2021.
Latest Champions League fixtures and results.
Europa League
The 2020-21 Europa League group stage began on October 22, 2020 and the final will be held on May 26, 2021.
Qualifying rounds for the tournament began on August 20, with the preliminary qualifying round.
Here are the key dates:
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Group stage draw | October 2, 2020 |
| Group stage | October 22 – December 10, 2020 |
| Last 32 draw | December 14, 2020 |
| Last 32 | February 18, 25, 2021 |
| Last 16 draw | February 26, 2021 |
| Last 16 | March 11, 18, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals draw | March 19, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | April 8, 15, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | April 29, May 6, 2021 |
| Final | May 26, 2021 |
The 2021-22 Europa League will kick off with qualifying matches in August 2021, with the competition proper commencing with the group stage in September 2021, running until December 2021. It will conclude in May 2022.
Latest Europa League fixtures and results.
FIFA Club World Cup
The 2020 FIFA Club World Cup was moved to 2021 due to Covid-19-related delays and will now take place from February 1 to February 11, 2021.
Here are the dates for the competition:
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| First round | February 1, 2021 |
| Second round | February 4, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | February 7, 8, 2021 |
| Fifth-place | February 7, 2021 |
| Third-place | February 11, 2021 |
| Final | February 11, 2021 |
Guide to the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup.
UEFA Women’s Champions League
The 2020-21 UEFA Women’s Champions League began in November 2020 and the final will take place on May 16, 2021.
Here are the dates for the 2020-21 Women’s Champions League.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| First qualifying round | November 3, 4, 2020 |
| Second qualifying round | November 18, 19, 2020 |
| Last 32 | December 8, 9, 15, 16, 2020 |
| Last 16 | March 3, 4, 10, 11, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | March 23, 24, 31 & April 1, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | April 24, 25 & May 1, 2, 2021 |
| Final | May 16, 2021 |
Euro 2020
Euro 2020 will begin on June 11, 2021 and the final will be played on July 11, 2021.
The tournament, also known as the UEFA European Championship, was supposed to take place in summer 2020, but it was postponed until 2021 as a result of public health concerns arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are the key dates for Euro 2020 in 2021:
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Group stage | June 11 – June 23, 2021 |
| Last 16 | June 26, 27, 28, 29, 2021 |
| Quarter-finals | July 2, 3, 2021 |
| Semi-finals | July 6, 7, 2021 |
| Final | July 11, 2021 |
Summer Olympics
The 2020 summer Olympics were moved to the summer of 2021.
The women’s tournament will kick off first, beginning on July 21, 2021 and the final will be played on August 6, 2021.
The men’s tournament is expected to begin on July 22, 2021 and the final will be played on August 7, 2021.
UEFA Conference League
The inaugural UEFA Conference League will kick off in July 2021 with the qualifying stage wrapping up in August 2021.
The competition proper will then get under way in September 2021 and it will finish in May 2022.
UEFA Super Cup
The 2021 UEFA Super Cup will be played in August 2021 between the winners of the Champions League and the winners of the Europa League.
It will be held at Windsor Park, Belfast, which is home to the Northern Ireland football team.
World Cup 2022 qualifiers
World Cup qualification for the 2022 tournament in Qatar is already under way in some regions.
The UEFA qualifying rounds take place throughout 2021, with group matches being played in March, September, October and November.
CONMEBOL qualifying continues with games in March, June, September, October and November 2021.
International windows in 2021 will largely be focused on whittling down the competitors for next year’s tournament.
UEFA Nations League
The 2020-21 UEFA Nations League concludes in October 2021.
Semi-finals will be played on October 6 and 7, with the final taking place on October 10. The third-place play-off will also be played on October 10.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Semi-finals | October 6, 7, 2021 |
| Third-place play-off | October 10, 2021 |
| Final | October 10, 2021 |
Transfer window dates
The mid-season transfer registration period, otherwise known as the January transfer window, opened on January 2 in England, Germany and France, before opening on January 4 in Spain and Italy.
The January 2021 transfer window will close on the same date across Europe’s top leagues – February 1.
FIFA has yet to finalise the dates for the summer 2021 transfer window (the pre-season transfer registration period for 2021-22).
| League | Winter transfer window | Summer transfer window |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League | Jan 2 – Feb 1, 2021 | To be confirmed |
| La Liga | Jan 4 – Feb 1, 2021 | To be confirmed |
| Bundesliga | Jan 2 – Feb 1, 2021 | To be confirmed |
| Serie A | Jan 4 – Feb 1, 2021 | To be confirmed |
| Ligue 1 | Jan 2 – Feb 1, 2021 | To be confirmed |
Latest transfer news and rumours.
