The coronavirus pandemic that has been ravishing the world has changed a lot about how football is being played and that will continue in the 2020-2021 season. Football administrators across the world have released football calendar or schedule for the 2020-2021 season and it is obvious that footballers, national teams, and football clubs have more in their hands in the coming season than ever.
Below, Futballnews has broken down the football calendar or schedule of some of the football tournaments that will take place between 2020 and 2021.
UEFA Champions League
The 2020-2021 season of the most prestigious continental club football in the world, UEFA Champions League, will be played in one-legged format except the play-offs which would still be played in the regular two-legged format. UEFA will conduct a draw which would determine which club will host a fixture in their stadium.
The group stage of the Champions League will start on October 20, 2020, and the final of the competition will be taken to Istanbul, Turkey on May 29, 2021.
Here is the schedule of the UEFA Champions League 2020-2021 season
August 18/19: First qualifying round
August 25/26: Second qualifying round
September 15/16: Third qualifying round
September 22/23 & 29/30: Play-offs
October 20/21: Group stage matchday 1
October 27/28: Group stage matchday 2
November 3/4: Group stage matchday 3
November 24/25: Group stage matchday 4
December 1/2: Group stage matchday 5
December 8/9: Group stage matchday 6
February 16/17, 2021: Round of 16
April 6/14, 2021: Quarter-finals
April 17 & May 5, 2021: Semi-finals
May 29, 2021: Final
Europa League
Just like the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League will be played in a one-legged format. The group stage of the second-tier European club competition will commence on October 20, 2020. The final of the competition which would take place on May 26, 2021, will be hosted by Gdansk, Poland.
Here is the schedule for 2020-2021 Europa League season
August 20: Preliminary round
August 27: First qualifying round
September 17: Second qualifying round
September 24: Third qualifying round
October 1: Play-offs
October 22: Group stage matchday 1
October 29: Group stage matchday 2
November 5: Group stage matchday 3
November 26: Group stage matchday 4
December 3: Group stage matchday 5
December 10: Group stage matchday 6
February 18 & 25, 2021: Round of 32
March 11 & 18, 2021: Round of 16
April 8 & 15, 2021: Quarter-finals
April 29 & May 6, 2021: Semi-finals
May 26: Final
Euro 2020
European Championship also known as Euro was initially scheduled to take place in 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic forced it to be postponed to 2021.
All things being equal, the Championship will commence on June 11 and end on July 11, 2021. For the first time in the history of the tournament, the competition will be hosted by 12 cities in 12 different countries.
Here is the draw for the rescheduled Euro 2020
Group A: (Rome/Baku): Turkey, Italy (hosts), Wales, Switzerland
Group B: (Copenhagen/St Petersburg): Denmark (hosts), Finland, Belgium, Russia (hosts)
Group C: (Amsterdam/Bucharest): Netherlands (hosts), Ukraine, Austria, Play-off winner D or A
Group D: (London/Glasgow): England (hosts), Croatia, Play-off winner C, Czech Republic
Group E: (Bilbao/Dublin): Spain (hosts), Sweden, Poland, Play-off winner B
Group F: (Munich/Budapest): Play-off winner A or D, Portugal (holders), France, Germany (hosts)
Euro 2021 schedule
June 11- 23: Group stage
June 26-29: Round of 16
July 2/3: Quarter-finals
July 6/7: Semi-finals
July 11: Final
Nations League
The UEFA Nations League will stage a return in the 2020-2021 season as the competition failed to hold for the 2019-2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group stage of the forthcoming edition will commence on September 3 and end on November 18.
That is, European national teams will meet on September 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 for the first set of matches in the group stage. Then, the next set of matches will take place on October 10, 11, 13, and 14, 2020. The last set of matches in the group stage of the Nations League will take place on November 14, 15, 17, and 18.
Premier League, Community Shield, and International Break
One of the most followed leagues in the world, the Premier League will start the 2020-2021 football season on September 12, 2020. But before the season will commence, the Community Shield will be played on August 29, 2020.
The Community Shield is a one-legged match that is played between the winners of the Premier League and the winners of the FA Cup. In the outgoing 2019-2020 season, the winners of the Premier League are Liverpool while the winners of the FA Cup are Arsenal. This means that the Community Shield will be played between Liverpool and Arsenal on August 29, two weeks before the start of the Premier League 2020-2021 season.
But before the Premier League season commences on September 12, there would be an international break between September 2 to 10, 2020. At this period, football clubs are not expected to function which will give room for national teams to converge if necessary.
Then, the Premier League will resume September 12 and end on May 23, 2021. The full fixture of the Premier League 2020-2021 season is expected to be released on August 21.
As we wait for the fixture, here is the Premier League schedule for 2020-2021 season:
Matchweek 1: Saturday, September 12
Matchweek 2: Saturday, September 19
Matchweek 3: Saturday, September 26
Matchweek 4: Saturday, October 3
Matchweek 5: Saturday, October 17
Matchweek 6: Saturday, October 24
Matchweek 7: Saturday, October 31
Matchweek 8: Saturday, November 7
Matchweek 9: Saturday, November 21
Matchweek 10: Saturday, November 28
Matchweek 11: Saturday, December 5
Matchweek 12: Saturday, December 12
Matchweek 13: Wednesday, December 16
Matchweek 14: Saturday, December 19
Matchweek 15: Saturday, December 26
Matchweek 16: Monday, December 28
Matchweek 17: Saturday, January 2
Matchweek 18a: Wednesday, January 13
Matchweek 19: Saturday, January 16
Matchweek 18b: Wednesday, January 20
Matchweek 20: Saturday, January 23
Matchweek 21: Saturday, January 30
Matchweek 22: Wednesday, February 3
Matchweek 23: Saturday, February 6
Matchweek 24: Saturday, February 13
Matchweek 25: Saturday, February 20
Matchweek 26: Saturday, February 27
Matchweek 27: Saturday, March 6
Matchweek 28: Saturday, March 13
Matchweek 29: Saturday, March 20
Matchweek 30: Saturday, April 3
Matchweek 31: Saturday, April 10
Matchweek 32: Saturday, April 17
Matchweek 33: Saturday, April 24
Matchweek 34: Saturday, May 1
Matchweek 35: Saturday, May 8
Matchweek 36: Wednesday, May 12
Matchweek 37: Saturday, May 15
Matchweek 38: Sunday, May 23
Carabao Cup
The Carabao Cup, a club title in English football, is scheduled to resume on September 5 but the round one fixtures might be rescheduled because it clashes with international break.
Here is the schedule for 2020-2021 Carabao Cup season:
September 5: Round One (there might be a change of date)
September 15/16: Round Two
September 22/23: Round Three
September 29/30: Round Four
December 22/23: Round Five
January 5/6 2021: Semi-finals
February 28, 2021: Final
EFL title
The EFL is another club title in English football that is expected to resume on September 7 for the 2020-2021 season. It is expected to end on March 14, 2021.
Here is the schedule for the EFL title 2020-2021 season
September 8/9: Matchday 1
October 6/7: Matchday 2
November 10/11: Matchday 3
December 8/9: Round of 32
January 12/13 2021: Round of 16
February 2/3 2021: Quarter-finals
February 16/17 2021: Semi-finals
March 14, 2021: Final
FA Cup
The oldest club competition in the world, the FA Cup will start with a preliminary round on September 12, 2020. In the forthcoming season, there would be no room for replays.
Here is FA Cup schedule for 2020-2021 season
September 12: Preliminary round
September 22: First round Qualifying
October 3: Second round Qualifying
October 13: Third round Qualifying
October 24: Fourth round Qualifying
November 7: First round proper
November 28: Second round
January 9, 2021: Third round
January 23, 2021: Fourth round
February 10, 2021: Fifth round
March 20, 2021: Quarter-finals
April 17, 2021: Semi-finals
May 15, 2021: Final
