Football calendar 2021: Key dates for Premier League, Champions League, Euro 2020 & more this year

Ryan Kelly

Football calendar 2021: Key dates for Premier League, Champions League, Euro 2020 & more this year image

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)

  1. Premier League
  2. English Championship
  3. Carabao Cup
  4. FA Cup
  5. La Liga
  6. Copa del Rey
  7. Bundesliga
  8. DFB Pokal
  9. Serie A
  10. Coppa Italia
  11. Ligue 1
  12. Coupe de France
  13. Champions League
  14. Europa League
  15. FIFA Club World Cup
  16. UEFA Women's Champions League
  17. Euro 2020
  18. Summer Olympics
  19. UEFA Conference League
  20. UEFA Super Cup
  21. World Cup 2022 qualifiers
  22. UEFA Nations League
  23. Transfer window dates

Premier League

The 2020-21 Premier League season began on September 12, 2020 and it will conclude on May 23, 2021.

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.

Ryan Kelly