2002 in association football facts for kids

Welcome to a look back at the exciting world of football (soccer) in 2002! This year was packed with amazing matches, big wins, and important changes for teams and players around the globe. Get ready to explore the highlights of this memorable year in football history.

Big Football Moments of 2002

January Football Highlights

• January 8: Two American football teams, Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion, left the MLS. They both closed down on the same day.
• January 19: The 2002 African Cup of Nations began! The first match was in Mali, where the home team  Mali tied 1-1 with  Liberia in Bamako.

February Football Highlights

• February 10: The final match of the 2002 African Cup of Nations Final was played.  Cameroon won the championship by beating  Senegal in a penalty shootout (3-2).
• February 13: Dick Advocaat became the new manager for the  Netherlands national team. He took over from Louis van Gaal. His first game was a 1-1 draw against  England in Amsterdam.

April Football Highlights

• April 5: The 2002 Asian Club Championship Final took place. Suwon Samsung Bluewings from South Korea won the title. They beat Anyang LG Cheetahs 4-2 in a penalty shootout.

May Football Highlights

• May 8: Feyenoord from the Netherlands won the 2002 UEFA Cup Final. They beat Borussia Dortmund from Germany 3-2 in their home stadium in Rotterdam.
• May 15: Real Madrid C.F. from Spain won the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. They defeated Bayer Leverkusun from Germany. The exciting match was held in Hampden Park, Scotland.
• May 28: The 53rd FIFA Congress was held. This is where the election for the president of FIFA happened. Joseph "Sepp" Blatter won the election, staying on as president.
• May 30: A new football club called A.F.C. Wimbledon was started in England. Fans of the old Wimbledon F.C. created it because they were upset their club was allowed to move to another city.
• May 31: The amazing 2002 FIFA World Cup began! In the opening game,  Senegal caused a huge upset. They beat the defending champions,  France, 1-0 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

June Football Highlights

• June 21: A new football club, F.C. Wacker Innsbruck, was founded in Austria.
• June 30: The grand final of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final was played.  Brazil won the World Cup by beating  Germany 2-0. The match took place at the International Stadium of Yokohama in Japan.

July Football Highlights

• July 31: The second leg of the 2002 Copa Libertadores Final was played. Paraguayan team Club Olimpia won the South American club championship. They beat São Caetano from Brazil after a penalty shootout.

August Football Highlights

• August 27: The second leg of the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were played. Stuttgart (Germany), Fulham (England), and Málaga (Spain) all won their finals.
• August 30: Real Madrid won the 2002 UEFA Super Cup. They beat Feyenoord 3-1 in Monaco.
• August 31: Real Madrid made a huge signing! They bought the famous Brazilian player Ronaldo from Inter Milan for €45 million.
• Date Unknown: Gerard van der Lem became the new manager for the  Saudi Arabia national team.

September Football Highlights

• September 18: The 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup Final was played. Pachuca from Mexico won by beating Monarcas Morelia 1-0.

December Football Highlights

• December 3: Real Madrid won another big trophy! They beat Club Olimpia in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, which was a match between the champions of Europe and South America.

Other Notable Events of 2002

• Tirol Innsburck went bankrupt even after winning their third Austrian Football Bundesliga title.
• The 2002 FIFA World Player of the Year awards were given out. Ronaldo won the award for the best male player, and Mia Hamm won for the best female player.
• The English Football Hall of Fame was opened to honor great English football players.
• Athletic Club Femenino, the women's team of Athletic Bilbao, was founded.

Tournament Champions of 2002

This section shows which teams won the biggest football tournaments around the world in 2002.

International Tournaments

These tournaments involve national teams from different countries.

Tournament	Confederation	Host Country(s)	Winner	Runner-Up	Finals Stadium
2002 African Cup of Nations	CAF (Africa)	Mali	Cameroon	Senegal	Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako
2002 FIFA World Cup	FIFA	South Korea  Japan	Brazil	Germany	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama

Youth International Tournaments

These are tournaments for younger national teams.

Tournament	Confederation	Host Country(s)	Winner	Runner-Up	Finals Stadium
2002 UEFA European Under-17 Championship	UEFA (Europe)	Denmark	Switzerland	France	Farum Park, Farum
2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship		Norway	Spain	Germany	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship		Switzerland	Czech Republic	France	St. Jakob-Park, Basel

Continental Club Tournaments

These tournaments involve the best clubs from different countries within a continent.

Confederation	Tournament	Previous Winner	Winner	Runner-Up	Finals Stadium
AFC (Asia)	2001–02 Asian Club Championship	Suwon Samsung Bluewings (2000-01)	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Anyang LG Cheetahs	Azadi Stadium, Tehran
CAF (Africa)	2002 CAF Champions League	Al Ahly (2001)	Zamalek SC	Raja Casablanca	2-Legged Final
CONCACAF (North America)	2002 CONCACAF Cup	Los Angeles Galaxy (2000)	Pachuca	Monarcas Morelia	Estadio Azul, Mexico City
CONMEBOL (South America)	2002 Copa Libertadores	Boca Juniors (2001)	Club Olimpia	A.D. São Caetano	2-Legged Final
	2002 Copa Sudamericana	First Season	San Lorenzo	Atlético Nacional	2-Legged Final
UEFA (Europe)	2001–02 UEFA Champions League	Bayern Munich (2000-01)	Real Madrid	Bayer Leverkusen	Hampden Park, Glasgow
	2001–02 UEFA Cup	Liverpool (2000-01)	Feyenoord	Borussia Dortmund	De Kuip, Rotterdam
	2002 UEFA Super Cup	Liverpool (2001)	Real Madrid	Feyenoord	Stade Louis II, Monaco

National League and Cup Winners

This table shows the top teams in different countries for 2002.

Country	League Winners	Cup Winners	Supercup Winners
Austria	Tirol Innsbruck	Grazer AK	Grazer AK
Belgium	KRC Genk	Club Brugge	Club Brugge
Croatia	NK Zagreb	Dinamo Zagreb	Dinamo Zagreb
Czech Republic	Slovan Liberec	Slavia Prague	-
Denmark	Brøndby IF	Odense BK	Brøndby IF
England	Arsenal	Arsenal	Arsenal
France	Olympique Lyonnais	FC Lorient	Olympique Lyonnais
Germany	Borussia Dortmund	Schalke 04	-
Greece	Olympiacos	A.E.K. Athens	-
Italy	Juventus	Parma	Juventus
Netherlands	Ajax	Ajax	Ajax
Portugal	Sporting CP	Sporting CP	Sporting CP
Russia	Lokomotiv Moscow	CSKA Moscow	-
Scotland	Celtic	Rangers	-
Spain	Valencia	Deportivo La Coruña	Deportivo La Coruña
Turkey	Galatasaray	Kocaelispor	-
Ukraine	Shakhtar Donetsk	Shakhtar Donetsk	-
Yugoslavia	Parizan	Red Star Belgrade	-

New Faces and Sad Farewells in Football

Footballers Born in 2002

Many talented young players who would later become stars were born in 2002. Here are a few:

• January 18: Karim Adeyemi (Germany)
• January 19: Reinier (Brazil)
• May 27: Jérémy Doku (Belgium)
• October 31: Ansu Fati (Spain)
• November 10: Eduardo Camavinga (France)
• November 13: Giovanni Reyna (USA)
• November 25: Pedri (Spain)

Footballers Who Passed Away in 2002

The football world also said goodbye to some legends in 2002.

• January 19: Jeff Astle, a famous English footballer for West Bromwich Albion.
• February 14: Nándor Hidegkuti, a legendary Hungarian footballer.
• May 13: Valeriy Lobanovskyi, a highly respected Ukrainian player and manager.
• June 17: Fritz Walter, a German football hero who led West Germany to win the 1954 World Cup.
• July 7: Ray Wood, an English goalkeeper who played for Manchester United and survived the Munich air disaster.

Big Player Transfers in 2002

Football clubs often buy and sell players. Here are some of the biggest player moves in 2002.

Winter Transfers (Early 2002)

• Geovanni (Brazil): From Cruzeiro to Barcelona for €21 million.
• Darko Kovačević (FR Yugoslavia): From Lazio to Real Sociedad for €15.5 million.
• Andy Cole (England): From Manchester United to Blackburn Rovers for €12.2 million.
• Diego Forlán (Uruguay): From Independiente to Manchester United for €11 million.
• Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast): From Le Mans to EA Guingamp for €100,000.

Summer Transfers (Mid-2002)

• Rio Ferdinand (England): From Leeds United to Manchester United for €46 million. This was a huge transfer fee for a defender at the time!
• Ronaldo (Brazil): From Inter Milan to Real Madrid for €45 million.
• Hernán Crespo (Argentina): From Lazio to Inter Milan for €40 million.
• Alessandro Nesta (Italy): From Lazio to AC Milan for €31 million.
• Fabio Cannavaro (Italy): From Parma to Inter Milan for €23 million.
• Clarence Seedorf (Netherlands): From Inter Milan to AC Milan for €22.5 million.
• El Hadji Diouf (Senegal): From Lens to Liverpool for €15 million.
• Michael Ballack (Germany): From Bayer Leverkusen to Bayern Munich for €6 million.
• Petr Čech (Czech Republic): From Sparta Praha to Stade Rennais for €5 million.
• Arjen Robben (Netherlands): From FC Groningen to PSV Eindhoven for €4.1 million.
• Dani Alves (Brazil): From Bahia to Sevilla on loan for €500,000.