1961 in association football

The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 1961 throughout the world.

Events

 * Copa Libertadores 1961: Won by Peñarol after defeating Palmeiras on an aggregate score of 2–1.
 * 1961 International Soccer League
 * Dukla Prague beat Everton F.C., 9–2, in the final on aggregate
 * September 6 – Dutch club Feyenoord from Rotterdam makes its European debut by defeating Sweden's IFK Göteborg (0–3) in the first round of the European Cup.
 * September 18 – The North American Football Confederation and Football Confederation of Central America and the Caribbean merge to form CONCACAF.

Winners club national championship

 * 🇦🇷: Racing Club
 * 🇧🇷: Santos
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Tottenham Hotspur
 * 🇫🇷: AS Monaco
 * 🇮🇸: KR
 * 🇮🇹: Juventus
 * 🇲🇽: Chivas Guadalajara
 * : Feyenoord
 * : Cerro Porteño
 * : Steaua București
 * : FC Dynamo Kyiv
 * 🇪🇸: Real Madrid
 * 🇹🇷: Fenerbahçe

International tournaments

 * 1961 British Home Championship (October 8, 1960 – April 15, 1961)
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 england

Births

 * January 12 – Andrea Carnevale, Italian international footballer
 * January 13 – César Baena, Venezuelan international footballer
 * January 17 – Zhao Dayu, Chinese international footballer (died 2015)
 * January 18 – Peter Beardsley, English international footballer
 * January 20 – Patricio Yáñez, Chilean international footballer
 * January 31 – Jonny Otten, German international footballer.
 * February 13 – Oļegs Karavajevs, Latvian international footballer
 * March 13 – Sebastiano Nela, Italian international footballer
 * March 21 – Lothar Matthäus, German international footballer and manager
 * April 4 – Karsten Härtel, former German footballer
 * April 6 – Tony Paul, English former professional footballer
 * April 11 – Roberto Cabañas, Paraguayan international footballer (died 2017)
 * April 19 – Dave Wiffill, English former professional footballer and coach
 * May 3 – Daniel Sánchez, Uruguayan international footballer
 * May 5 – Ali Hussein Shihab, Iraqi international footballer (died 2016)
 * May 8 – Gert Kruys, Dutch footballer and manager
 * May 21 – Thomas Dooley, American international footballer and manager
 * June 1 – Rubén Espinoza, Chilean footballer
 * June 3 – César Zabala, Paraguayan international footballer (died 2020)
 * June 29 – Víctor Genés, Paraguayan footballer and football manager (died 2019)
 * August 1 – Danny Blind, Dutch international footballer and manager
 * August 10 – Chris Marustik, Welsh international footballer (died 2015)
 * September 9 – Justo Jacquet, Paraguayan footballer
 * September 20 – Erwin Koeman, Dutch international footballer and manager
 * October 16 – Wilfried Brookhuis, Dutch footballer
 * October 20 – Guillermo Muñoz, Mexican footballer
 * November 3 – Sven Habermann, German-Canadian soccer player
 * November 4 – Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish international footballer and manager
 * November 17 – Wolfram Wuttke, German international footballer (died 2015)
 * November 20 – Dave Watson, English footballer and manager
 * December 17 – Henk van Stee, Dutch footballer and manager

January

 * January 5 – Jack Butler (66), English international footballer and manager (born 1894)

October

 * October 31 – Alberto Chividini, Argentine defender, runner up of the 1930 FIFA World Cup . (54)