The following are the association football events of the year 1980 throughout the world.

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• Copa Libertadores 1980: Won by Nacional after defeating Sport Club Internacional on an aggregate score of 2–0.
• England: 1980 FA Cup Final: West Ham United 1, Arsenal 0, the winning goal scored by Trevor Brooking
• European Cup 1980: Won by Nottingham Forest after defeating Hamburger SV 1–0 in the Final.
• Scottish Cup final: Celtic beat Rangers 1-0 after extra time at Hampden Park. After the match there is a pitch invasion, leading to rioting and 210 arrests. Following the match the sale of alcohol at Scottish football grounds is banned.
• September 10 – Midfielder Jan van Deinsen plays his first and only international match for the Netherlands, when the Netherlands meets the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
• September 17 – Dutch side FC Utrecht makes its European debut with a draw (0-0) in Romania against FC Argeș Pitești in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

• African Cup of Nations in Nigeria (March 8 – 22 1980)
  1.  Nigeria
  2.  Algeria
  3.  Morocco
• 1980 British Home Championship (May 16 – May 24, 1980)

 Northern Ireland

• UEFA European Football Championship in Italy (June 11 – 22 1980)
  1.  West Germany
  2.  Belgium
  3.  Italy and  Czechoslovakia
• Olympic Games in Moscow, Soviet Union (July 20 – August 2, 1980)
  1.  Czechoslovakia
  2.  East Germany
  3.  Soviet Union
• Mundialito in Montevideo, Uruguay (December 30, 1980 – January 10, 1981)
  1.  Uruguay
  2.  Brazil
  3. —

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• January 6 – Steed Malbranque, Belgian-French footballer
• January 12 – Michael Niedrig, German former footballer^[1]
• January 14 – Ossama Haidar, Lebanese international
• January 25 – Xavi, Spanish footballer
• February 1
  • Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
  • Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
• February 6 – Shaun Hadley, English former professional footballer^[2]
• February 9 – Jean-Reck Ah Fok, Mauritian footballer
• February 15 – Elvis Marecos, Paraguayan footballer
• February 20
  • Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
  • Thijs Sluijter, Dutch footballer
• February 28 – Piotr Giza, Polish footballer
• March 4 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
• March 8 – Aridani Arbelo, Spanish footballer^[3]
• March 13 – Dani Ferron, Andorran footballer^[4]
• March 14 – Aaron Brown, English footballer
• March 15 – Hugo Notario, Argentine footballer
• March 20 – Thomas Levaux, French professional footballer^[5]
• March 21
  • John McGrath, Irish footballer
  • Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
• March 31
  • Matias Concha, Swedish footballer
  • Dean Clark, English footballer
• April 17 – Leonid Lazaridi, former Russian footballer^[6]
• April 22 – Nicolas Douchez, French footballer
• May 14 – Zdeněk Grygera, Czech footballer
• May 18 – Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
• May 30 – Steven Gerrard, English footballer
• June 2 – Abby Wambach, American women's soccer player^[7]
• June 10
  • Edgard Lima, Brazilian footballer^[8]
  • Francelino Matuzalem, Brazilian footballer
• June 12 – Ifet Taljević, Yugoslav-born German club footballer
• June 26 – Michael Jackson, English club footballer
• June 30
  • Rade Prica, Swedish international
  • Sayuti, Indonesian club footballer
• July 8 – Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
• August 5 – Wayne Bridge, English footballer
• August 6
  • Danny Collins, English-Welsh footballer
  • Roman Weidenfeller, German footballer
• August 7 – Shane Moody-Orio, Belizean footballer
• August 12 – Javier Chevantón, Uruguayan footballer
• September 6
  • Sergei Sholokhov, former Russian professional footballer^[9]
  • Joseph Yobo, Nigerian footballer
• September 9 – Steeve Theophile, French footballer
• September 10 – Willy Eras, Costa Rican professional footballer^[10]
• September 17 – Mikhail Nekrasov, former Russian professional footballer^[11]
• September 18 – Marco Antonio Mendoza, Mexican footballer^[12]
• September 29 – Patrick Agyemang, Ghanaian international
• October 3 – Dalibor Mitrović, Serbian footballer^[13]
• October 4 – Tomáš Rosický, Czech international
• October 9
  • Kert Kütt, Estonian footballer
  • Amir Nussbaum, Israeli footballer
  • Ibrahim Fazeel, Maldivian footballer
  • Fábio Pinto, Brazilian footballer
  • Warren Waugh, English footballer
• October 23 – Scott Parker, English international
• October 27 – Radhakrishnan Dhanarajan, Indian club footballer (d. 2019)
• October 28 – Alan Smith, English international
• October 29 – Arthur (Arthur Teixeira Viégas), Brazilian footballer^[14]
• November 2 – Diego Lugano, Uruguayan footballer
• November 3 – Bernard Morreel, Belgian retired footballer^[15]
• November 5 – Christoph Metzelder, German international
• November 18 – Luke Chadwick, English youth international
• November 22 – David Artell, English club footballer and manager
• November 26 – Sergei Viktorovich Kudryavtsev, former Russian professional footballer^[16]
• December 6 – Steve Lovell, English club footballer
• December 7 – John Terry, English footballer
• December 20 – Ashley Cole, English footballer
• December 31 – Beto Gonçalves, Brazilian-born Indonesian international

Date unknown