1971 in association football

The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 1971 throughout the world.

Events

• January 2 – Second Ibrox disaster. Barriers on Stairway 13 at Ibrox Park give way under a crush of fans departing a Rangers–Celtic match, killing 66 and injuring over 200.
• Copa Libertadores

Won by Nacional after defeating Estudiantes La Plata on an aggregate score of 2–0.

• May 20 – Ajax claims the KNVB Cup by defeating Sparta Rotterdam in the second leg, 2–1.

Winners club national championship

Asia

• Iran: Taj
• Qatar: Al-Oruba

Europe

• France: Olympique de Marseille
• Italy: Inter Milan
• Netherlands: Feyenoord
• Spain: Valencia
• Turkey: Galatasaray

North America

• Mexico: Club América
• United States / Canada:
  • Dallas Tornado (NASL)

South America

• Brazil: Atlético Mineiro

International tournaments

• 1971 British Home Championship (May 15 – May 22, 1971)

England

• Pan American Games in Colombia (July 31 – August 12, 1971)
  • Gold Medal: Argentina
  • Silver Medal: Colombia
  • Bronze Medal: Cuba

Births

January

• January 1 – Juan Carlos Plata, Guatemalan footballer and coach
• January 2 – Slobodan Komljenović, Serbian footballer
• January 5 – Bjørn Otto Bragstad, Norwegian footballer
• January 8 – Jesper Jansson, Swedish footballer
• January 10 – Rudi Istenič, Slovenian footballer
• January 14 – Bert Konterman, Dutch footballer
• January 14 – Antonis Nikopolidis, Greek goalkeeper
• January 16 – Ulrich van Gobbel, Dutch footballer
• January 18 – Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer
• January 26 – Giuseppe Pancaro, Italian footballer
• January 29 – Jörg Albertz, German footballer

February

• February 1 – Joaquín Hernández, Mexican footballer
• February 1 – Zlatko Zahovič, Slovenian footballer
• February 1 – Marcelinho Carioca, Brazilian footballer
• February 2 – Osvaldo Peralta, Paraguayan footballer
• February 4 – Maarten Atmodikoro, Dutch footballer
• February 17 – Carlos Gamarra, Paraguayan footballer
• February 20 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer

March

• March 4 – Jovan Stanković, Serbian footballer
• March 13 – Allan Nielsen, Danish footballer
• March 15 – Joachim Björklund, Swedish footballer
• March 18 – Jerzy Brzęczek, Polish footballer
• March 18 – Fernando Ochoaizpur, Bolivian footballer
• March 26 – Liviu Ciobotariu, Romanian footballer

April

• April 2 – Francisco Arce, Paraguayan international
• April 2 – Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, Brazilian footballer
• April 5 – Choi Eun-sung, South Korean club player
• April 7 – Franky Vandendriessche, Belgian goalkeeper
• April 8 – Kim Byung-ji, South Korean international goalkeeper
• April 9 – Víctor López, Uruguayan footballer
• April 13 – Steven Lustü, Danish footballer and coach
• April 14 – Miguel Calero, Colombian international (d. 2012)
• April 15 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
• April 17 – José Francisco Cevallos, Ecuadorian footballer, Minister of Sports in Ecuador and President of Barcelona F.C.
• April 23 – Hjalmar Zambrano, Ecuadorian footballer

May

• May 14 – Martin Reim, Estonian footballer

June

• June 3 – Luigi Di Biagio, Italian footballer
• June 5 – Francisco Gabriel de Anda, Mexican footballer and analyst
• June 9
  • Gilles De Bilde, Belgian footballer
  • Uladzimir Zhuravel, Belarusian footballer and coach (d. 2018)
• June 14 – Håkan Mild, Swedish footballer
• June 23 – Enrique Romero, Spanish footballer
• June 24 – Thomas Helveg, Danish international
• June 25 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish footballer and manager
• June 28 – Fabien Barthez, French footballer

July

• July 26 – Mladen Rudonja, Slovenian footballer
• July 31 – Elivélton, Brazilian international footballer
• July 31 – Ignacio Vázquez, Mexican footballer

August

• August 10 – Roy Keane, Irish footballer and manager
• August 16 – Rick Slor, Dutch footballer
• August 18 – Patrik Andersson, Swedish footballer
• August 19 – Miguel Ponce, Chilean footballer
• August 23 – Demetrio Albertini, Italian footballer
• August 26 – Osman Özköylü, Turkish footballer
• August 27 – Ernest Faber, Dutch footballer
• August 29 – Marco Sandy, Bolivian footballer

September

• September 1 – Hakan Şükür, Turkish footballer
• September 3 – Ángel Lemus, Mexican footballer
• September 3 – Paolo Montero, Uruguayan footballer
• September 9 – Mikel Lasa, Spanish footballer
• September 9 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer
• September 13 – Mladen Dabanovič, Slovenian footballer
• September 17 – Edílson, Brazilian footballer
• September 18 – Filip Apelstav, Swedish footballer
• September 20 – Henrik Larsson, Swedish footballer and manager
• September 29 – Miguel Fuentes, Mexican footballer
• September 29 – Jeffrey Talan, Dutch footballer

October

• October 4 – Jorge Costa, Portuguese footballer
• October 5 – Bertrand Crasson, Belgian footballer
• October 7 – Ismael Urzaiz, Spanish footballer
• October 8 – Miran Pavlin, Slovenian footballer
• October 13 – André Bergdølmo, Norwegian footballer
• October 15 – Andy Cole, English footballer
• October 15 – Niko Kovač, Croatian footballer
• October 16 – Geert De Vlieger, Belgian footballer
• October 18 – Yoo Sang-chul, South Korean footballer
• October 21 – René Ponk, Dutch footballer
• October 25 – Geoffrey Prommayon, Dutch footballer
• October 26 – Didier Martel, French footballer
• October 27 – Theodoros Zagorakis, Greek footballer

November

• November 3 – Dwight Yorke, Trinidadian and Tobagonian footballer
• November 13 – Unai Emery, Spanish footballer and manager
• November 13 – Erwin Ramírez, Ecuadorian footballer
• November 16 – Mustapha Hadji, Moroccan footballer
• November 30 – Pedro Pineda, Mexican footballer

December

• December 2 – Francesco Toldo, Italian footballer
• December 3 – Henk Timmer, Dutch footballer
• December 7 – Spira Grujić, Serbian footballer
• December 8 – Abdullah Ercan, Turkish footballer
• December 14 – Arsenio Benítez, Paraguayan footballer
• December 26 – Mika Nurmela, Finnish footballer
• December 28 – Sergi Barjuán, Spanish footballer
• December 29 – Niclas Alexandersson, Swedish footballer

Deaths

• June 30 – Georgi Asparuhov (28), Bulgarian footballer (born 1943)
• June 30 – Nikola Kotkov (32), Bulgarian footballer (born 1938)
• July 13 – Harry Dénis (74), Dutch footballer (born 1896)
• August 5 – Ber Groosjohan (74), Dutch footballer (born 1897)