The following are the association football events of the year 2008 throughout the world.
News
January 3 – Argentine midfielder Éver Banega leaves Boca Juniors and joins the Spanish club Valencia for an estimated fee of €18 million. 5 – Everton are knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Oldham Athletic, a team from Football League One (third division) as Huddersfield Town from the same division beat Birmingham City. 6 – Toulouse are eliminated from the Coupe de France by Paris FC, a team from the Championnat National (third division). 9 – Sam Allardyce leaves the manager's position at Newcastle United by mutual agreement. 11 – Jürgen Klinsmann is unveiled as the new coach of Bayern Munich, effective July. 20 – The Africa Cup of Nations begins in Ghana with the hosts beating Guinea 2–1. 23 – Tottenham Hotspur defeat Arsenal 5–1 in the semi-final second-leg of the League Cup. This was the first time they had beaten their local rivals since 1999. 24 – George Burley is announced as the new coach of the Scotland national football team. 28 – Mohamed Sissoko leaves Liverpool to sign for Juventus, costing the Italian team €13 million.
February 2 – Frédéric Kanouté is named 2007 African Footballer of the Year 4 – Víctor Muñoz is sacked from the managers job of Spanish team Recreativo Huelva; Manolo Zambrano is immediately installed as the new coach of the La Liga team. 10 – Egypt win the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Cameroon in the final 1–0. 13 – Giovanni Trapattoni is announced as the new coach of the Republic of Ireland. He will officially take up this role in May. 23 – South Korean men's team won East Asian Cup 2008. 23 – Japanese J. League Cup winner Gamba Osaka defeated MLS champion Houston Dynamo at the final game of Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 by 6–1, won the champion title of inaugural tournament. The Los Angeles Galaxy won the third place match against Sydney FC from A-league by 2–1. 24 – Japan won the Women's East Asian Cup 2008 with three straight wins over South Korea, North Korea, and China. 24 – Tottenham Hotspur win the Football League Cup after beating Chelsea 2–1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium. 24 – Newcastle Jets win the Hyundai A-League Grand Final by defeating the Central Coast Mariners by 1–0 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
March 11 – Newport County win the FAW Premier Cup beating Llanelli 1–0 in the final. 12 – The United States women's national soccer team wins the 2008 Algarve Cup for the sixth time, beating Denmark 2–1 in the final. 16 – Rangers win the Scottish League Cup by beating Dundee United 3–2 in a penalty shootout after a 2–2 draw at Hampden Park.
May 5 – Real Madrid wins the 31st La Liga title after beating Osasuna 2–1. 8 – Announced that Frank Rijkaard would leave his managerial post at Barcelona at the end of the season, to be replaced by Barcelona B coach Pep Guardiola. 11 – Manchester United wins its tenth Premier League title after beating Wigan Athletic 2–0 away. 17 – Portsmouth wins the 127th FA Cup after beating Cardiff City 1–0 at Wembley Stadium 21 – Manchester United won the UEFA Champions League after beating Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes in Moscow 22 – Celtic win the SPL title for the third successive season by three points from Rangers on the final day. 24 – Avram Grant is sacked as Chelsea manager after just eight months in charge of the Premier League club.
June 2 – José Mourinho replaces Roberto Mancini as manager of Inter Milan 25 – LDU Quito won the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final beating Fluminense 4–2. 29 – Spain wins UEFA Euro 2008 after beating Germany 1–0 in the final.
July 1 – Luiz Felipe Scolari becomes the new manager of Chelsea. 2 – LDU Quito wins the Copa Libertadores beating Fluminense in penalties 3–1 after a 5–5 aggregate draw.
August 8 – Scottish Premier League team Gretna are formally liquidated. 21 – United States women's team win gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics 23 – Argentina's men's team win gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics
September 1 – Manchester City sign Robinho from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £32.5 million 1 – Manchester United sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur for £30.75 million. 4 – Kevin Keegan resigns as manager of Newcastle United.
International tournaments Men 20 January – 10 February: 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in
4th: 17 – 23 February: Men's East Asian Cup 2008 final in Chongqing,
4th: 11 – 23 March: 2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament in Nashville,
4th: 4 – 16 May: 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in
: and 7 – 29 June: UEFA Euro 2008 in and
: and 30 May – 1 June: Baltic Cup in Riga,
3 – 14 June: 2008 SAFF Championship in and
30 July – 13 August: AFC Challenge Cup,
4th: 7 – 23 August: 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament in Beijing,
5 – 28 December: 2008 AFF Championship in and
: ,
Women 18 – 24 February: Women's East Asian Cup 2008 final in Chongqing,
4th: 5 – 12 March: 2008 Algarve Cup in Algarve,
4th: 6 – 21 August: 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament in Beijing,
30 October – 16 November: 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in
4th: 20 November – 7 December: 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in
4th:
National champions
AFC nations A-League: Newcastle Jets Bahraini Premier League: Muharraq Club Chinese Super League: Shandong Luneng Hong Kong First Division League: South China I-League: Dempo SC Liga Indonesia Premier Division: Sriwijaya Persian Gulf Cup: Persepolis F.C. J. League: Kashima Antlers K-League: Suwon Samsung Bluewings Lebanese Premier League: Al Ahed Saudi Premier League: Al-Hilal Filipino Premier League: Philippine Army F.C. Malaysian Super League: Kedah FA Qatar Stars League: Al-Gharafa Sports Club S-League: Singapore Armed Forces Football Club Thailand Premier League: Provincial Electricity Authority FC Turkmenistan Higher League: FC Aşgabat Enterprise Football League: Taipower UAE Football League: Al-Shabab Uzbek League: Bunyodkor V-League: Becamex Bình Dương
UEFA nations Albanian Superliga: Dinamo Tirana Campionat de Lliga: Santa Coloma Armenian Premier League: Pyunik Austrian Bundesliga: Rapid Wien Azerbaijan Premier League: Inter Baku Belarusian Premier League: BATE Borisov Belgian Pro League: Standard Liège Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Modriča Bulgarian A PFG: CSKA Sofia Prva HNL: Dinamo Zagreb Cypriot First Division: Anorthosis Famagusta Gambrinus Liga: Slavia Prague Danish Superliga: Aalborg BK Premier League: Manchester United Meistriliiga: Levadia Tallinn Formuladeildin: EB/Streymur Veikkausliiga: Inter Turku Ligue 1: Lyon Umaglesi Liga: Dinamo Tbilisi Bundesliga: Bayern Munich Super League Greece: Olympiacos Hungarian National Championship I: MTK Budapest Úrvalsdeild: FH Hafnarfjörður League of Ireland Premier Division: Bohemian Ligat ha'Al: Beitar Jerusalem Serie A: Inter Milan Kazakhstan Premier League: Aktobe Latvian Higher League: Ventspils A Lyga: Ekranas Luxembourg National Division: F91 Dudelange Macedonian Prva Liga: Rabotnički Maltese Premier League: Valletta Moldovan National Division: Sheriff Tiraspol Montenegrin First League: Budućnost Podgorica Eredivisie: PSV Irish Premier League: Linfield Norwegian Premier League: Stabæk Ekstraklasa: Wisła Kraków Primeira Liga: Porto Liga I: CFR Cluj Russian Premier League: Rubin Kazan Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio: Murata Scottish Premier League: Celtic Serbian Superliga: Partizan Slovak Superliga: Artmedia Bratislava Slovenian PrvaLiga: NK Domžale La Liga: Real Madrid Allsvenskan: Kalmar Swiss Super League: Basel Süper Lig: Galatasaray Ukrainian Premier League: Shakhtar Donetsk Welsh Premier League: Llanelli
CAF nations Algerian Championnat National: JS Kabylie Girabola: Petro Atlético Luanda Mascom Premier League: Centre Chiefs Burkinabé Premier League: Etoile Filante Ouagadougou Burundi Premier League: Inter Star MTN Elite one: Cotonsport Garoua Cape Verdean football Championships: Sporting Clube da Praia Chad Premier League: Elect Sport N'Djamena Comoros Premier League: Etoile d'Or Congo Premier League: CARA Brazzaville Linafoot: DC Motema Pembe Côte d'Ivoire Premier Division: Africa Sports National Djibouti Premier League: Société Immobilière de Djibouti Egyptian Premier League: Al-Ahly Eritrean Premier League: Asmara Brewery Ethiopian Premier League: Saint-George SA Gabon Championnat National D1: AS Mangasport Gambian Championnat National D1: Wallidan OneTouch Premier League: Asante Kotoko Guinée Championnat National: Fello Star Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau: Sporting Clube de Batafá Kenyan Premier League: Mathare United Lesotho Premier League: Lesotho Correctional Services Liberian Premier League: Black Star Libyan Premier League: Al Ittihad THB Champions League: Académie Ny Antsika Malawi Premier Division: Silver Strikers Malien Première Division: Djoliba Mauritanean Premier League: ASAC Concorde Mauritian League: Curepipe Starlight Botola: FAR Rabat Moçambola: Ferroviario de Maputo Namibia Premier League: Orlando Pirates Windhoek Niger Premier League: AS Police Nigerian Premier League: Kano Pillars Réunion Premier League: JS Saint-Pierroise Rwandan Premier League: ATRACO Senegal Premier League: AS Douanes Seychelles League: Saint-Michel United Sierra Leone National Premier League: Ports Authority F.C. Somalia League: Elman FC Premier Soccer League: SuperSport United Sudan Premier League: Al-Merrikh Swazi Premier League: Royal Leopards Tanzanian Premier League: Young Africans Tunisian CLP-1: Club Africain Ugandan Super League: Kampala City Council Zambian Premier League: ZESCO United Zanzibar Premier League: Miembeni Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League: Monomotapa United
CONMEBOL nations Primera División Argentina: River Plate (C) / Boca Juniors (A) Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano: Universitario (A) / Aurura (C) Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: São Paulo Primera División de Chile: Everton (A) / Colo-Colo (C) Colombian Professional Football: Boyacá Chicó (A) / América de Cali (C) Serie A de Ecuador: Deportivo Quito Primera División de Paraguay: Libertad (A) (C) Primera División Peruana: U. San Martín Primera División Uruguaya: Defensor Sporting Primera División Venezolana: Deportivo Táchira (A = Apertura, C= Clausura)
CONCACAF nations
BFA Senior League: IM Bears Digicel Premiere League: Notre Date Sports Club Belize Premier Football League: Hankook Verdes Bermudian Premier Division: PHC Zebras British Virgin Islands Championship: Islanders Canadian Soccer League: Trois-Rivières Attak Cayman Islands League: Scholars International Primera División de Costa Rica: Saprissa (A) (C) Campeonato Nacional de Fútbol de Cuba: Cienfuegos Dominica Championship: Centre Bath Estate Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador: Firpo (C) / Isidro Metapán (A) Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala: Comunicaciones (C) (A) Grenada League: Carib Hurricane Ligue Haïtienne: Racing Gonaïves (C) / Tempête (A) Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Honduras: Marathón (C) / Olimpia (A) National Premier League: Portmore United Primera División de México: Santos Laguna (C) / Toluca (A) Nevis Premier Division: SL Horsford Highlights Primera División de Nicaragua: Real Estelí Liga Panameña de Fútbol: Árabe Unido (C) / San Francisco (A) Puerto Rico Soccer League: Sevilla Saint Kitts Premier Division: Newtown United Saint Lucia Premier Division: Aux Lyons United NLA Premier League: Avenues United Sint Maarten League: D&P Connection Surinamese Hoofdklasse: Inter Moengotapoe TT Pro League: San Juan Jabloteh MFL League: Beaches Major League Soccer: Columbus Crew US Virgin Islands Championship: Positive Vibes (A = Apertura, C= Clausura)
OFC nations Football Federation American Samoa Soccer League: Pago Youth Cook Islands Round Cup: Nikao Sokattack