2003 in association football

Events

• Confederations Cup: Host nation France wins a tournament marred by tragedy
• UEFA Champions League: AC Milan wins 3–2 on penalties over Juventus, after a 0–0 draw at Old Trafford. This was AC Milan's 6th European Cup.
• UEFA Cup: FC Porto wins 3–2 in the final against Celtic, after extra time, with a silver goal by Derlei. This is Porto's first UEFA Cup title.
• European Super Cup: AC Milan beats FC Porto 1–0, winning the cup for the 4th time.
• Copa Libertadores: Boca Juniors of Argentina won the cup for the fifth time against Santos of Brazil in a 5–1 aggregate.
• Recopa Sudamericana: Olimpia of Paraguay won 2–0 in the final against San Lorenzo of Argentina.
• FA Cup: Arsenal win 1–0 over Southampton
• FA Premier league – Manchester United wins the Premier League by 5 points over Arsenal.
• Women's World Cup: Germany wins the final against Sweden 2–1 after extra time.
• 22 January – Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam fires manager Dolf Roks, who is replaced on 7 February by former player Chris Dekker.
• 28 January – Head coach Robert Maaskant leaves Go Ahead Eagles and returns to RBC Roosendaal.
• 7 March – Mexican club Guadalajara appoints Hans Westerhof as their new technical director.
• 26 March – Manager Mike Snoei is fired by Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem to Ajax, and replaced by former player Edward Sturing.
• 17 June – Manchester United sells English football star David Beckham to Real Madrid for €35 million.
• 28 June – Italy's Piedmont wins the third UEFA Regions' Cup, beating France's Maine 2–1 in Heidenheim an der Brenz.
• 8 August – Satellite TV's Rupert Murdoch British Sky Broadcasting pay €510 million for transmission of FA Premier League seasons 2004–2007.
• 10 August – PSV wins the Johan Cruijff Schaal, the annual opening of the new season in the Eredivisie, by a 3–1 win over Utrecht in the Amsterdam ArenA.
• 25 September – Dutch club Zwolle sacks manager Peter Boeve.
• 1 October – Technical director Hans Westerhof is named head coach of Mexican club Guadalajara.
• 20 November – Manager Rinus Israël leaves ADO Den Haag and moves to Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates. Lex Schoenmaker is his successor in The Hague.
• 28 November – In an Asian Cup qualifier between Iran and Lebanon, Ali Daei scores his 85th goal for the Iranian national team, breaking the record of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás.
• 14 December – Boca Juniors wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan for the third time, by defeating Italy's AC Milan on penalties, after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra-time.

  Winners national club championship

Africa

• – USM Alger
• – Cottonsport Garoua
• – ASEC Mimosas
• – Zamalek
• – Al-Ittihad
• – Stade Malien
• – Hassania Agadir
• – Enyimba
• – Espéance

  Asia

• – Sun Hei
• – Sepahan
• – Yokohama F. Marinos
• – Al-Sadd
• – Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
• – BEC Tero Sasana

  Europe

• – Dinamo Zagreb
• – Copenhagen
• – Manchester United
• – Lyon
• – Bayern Munich
• – KR
• : Shelbourne
• – Juventus
• * Eredivisie – PSV
• * Eerste Divisie – Den Haag
• – Porto
• – CSKA Moscow
• – Partizan
• – Real Madrid
• * Allsvenskan – Djurgården
• * Svenska Cupen – Elfsborg
• – Beşiktaş

  North and Central America

• – Brampton Hitmen
• *Clausura – Monterrey
• *Apertura – Pachuca
• – San Jose Earthquakes

  South America

• Argentina
• *2002–03 Clausura – River Plate
• *2003–04 Apertura – Boca Juniors
• Bolivia – Bolívar
• *Torneo Apertura – The Strongest
• *Torneo Clausura – The Strongest
• Brazil – Cruzeiro
• Colombia – Once Caldas
• Ecuador – LDU Quito
• Paraguay – Club Libertad
• Uruguay – Peñarol

  International tournaments

• UNCAF Nations Cup in Panama
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• Baltic Cup in Estonia
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• Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• *Men's Tournament
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• *Women's Tournament
• # Brazil
• # Canada
• # Mexico
• FIFA U-20 World Cup in United Arab Emirates
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• FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland
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• Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad, India
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  National team results

Europe

South America

Deaths

January

• 10 January – Julinho, Brazilian footballer

  February

• 26 February – Antoni Torres, Spanish footballer and manager
• 28 February – Albert Batteux, French footballer

  April

• 17 April – Jean-Pierre Dogliani, French footballer
• 24 April – Gino Orlando, Brazilian forward, 9 times capped for the Brazil national football team.

  June

• 26 June – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer

  July

• 31 July – John Aston, Sr., English defender, England squad member at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
• 31 July – Bigode, Brazilian defender, runner-up at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

  August

• 1 August – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer and manager
• 8 August – Jimmy Davis, English footballer
• 31 August – Pierre Cahuzac, French footballer

  October

• 1 October – :zh:張耀麟|Cheung Yiu Lun, Hong Kong footballer

  November

• 21 November – Emil Pažický, Slovak footballer