2002 in association football

The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 2002 around the world.
Events
January
January 8: Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion withdraw from the MLS. They are both dissolved on the same day.
January 19: The opening match of the 2002 African Cup of Nations is played. draw 1-1 against the Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako, .
February
February 10: The 2002 African Cup of Nations Final is played. beat 3-2 on penalties.
February 13: Dick Advocaat replaces Louis van Gaal as the manager of the . His first game as Netherlands manager was 1-1 draw against in Amsterdam, .
February 19: Roberto Di Matteo (31) retires. He most famously played for Lazio, , and .
April
April 5: The 2002 Asian Club Championship Final was played. Suwon Samsung Bluewings beat Anyang LG Cheetahs 4-2 on penalties.
May
May 8: Feyenoord beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the 2002 UEFA Cup Final. The match was played at the Stadion Feijenoord, in Rotterdam, .
May 10: Lee Dixon (38) retires. He most famously played for and .
May 15: Real Madrid C.F. beat Bayer Leverkusun in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. The match was played at Hampden Park, .
May 28: The 53rd FIFA Congress is held. This is when the 2002 FIFA Presidential Election happened. Joseph "Sepp" Blatter beats Issa Hayatou in the election
May 30: A.F.C. Wimbledon is founded in . It is founded by Wimbledon F.C. fans who were annoyed that the club was allowed to move to Milton Keynes.
May 31: The opening match of the 2002 FIFA World Cup is played. In that game, beat 1998 World Cup winners 1-0 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, .
June
June 17: 1954 FIFA World Cup winner Fritz Walter passes away.
June 21: Wacker Innsbruck is founded in .
June 30: The 2002 FIFA World Cup Final is played. beats 2-0 at the International Stadium of Yokohama, .
July
July 31: The 2nd leg of the 2002 Copa Libertadores Final is played. Club Olimpia beat Sao Caetano 2-1 (2-2 on aggregate). Club Olympia would win 4-2 on penalties.
August
August 11: Tony Adams (35) retires. He played for and .
August 17: Wayne Rooney makes his professional debut for . The match was a 2-2 draw against .
August 27: The 2nd leg of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were played. Stuttgart beat Lille 2-0 (Stuttgart won 2-1 on agg.), beat Bologna 3-1 (Fulham won 5-3 on agg.), and Malaga drew 1-1 against Villarreal (Malaga won 2-1 on agg.).
August 30: The 2002 UEFA Super Cup is played. Real Madrid beats Feyenoord 3-1 at the Stade Louis II in .
August 31: Real Madrid sign Ronaldo from Inter Milan for EUR45 million.
Date Unknown: Gerard van der Lem replaces Martin Koopman as the manager of .
September
September 17: 1958 FIFA World Cup winner Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa passes away. He dies due to cancer.
September 18: The 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup Final was played. Pachuca beat Monarcas Morelia 1-0.
September 22: 1950 FIFA World Cup winner Julio Perez passes away.
October
October 31: A match between AS Adema and SO l'Emyrne ended at 149-0. This is due to SO l'Emyrne scoring 149 own goals in protest. It was later discovered that the match was fixed.
November
November 9: 1950 FIFA World Cup winner Eusebio Tejera passes away.
November 13: 1950 FIFA World Cup winner Juan Alberto Schiaffino passes away.
December
December 3: Real Madrid beat Club Olimpia in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup
Date Unknown
Tirol Innsburck went bankrupt after winning their 3rd Austrian Bundesliga title.
The 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year is held. Ronaldo wins the Men's award, while Mia Hamm wins the Woman's award.
The English Football Hall of Fame is opened.