The following are the association football events of the year 1986 throughout the world.

Events

• March 11 – Germany's Sigfried Held makes his debut as the manager of Iceland, losing (1–2) against Bahrain.
• March 21 – Egypt wins the Africa Nations Cup in Cairo after defeating Cameroon on penalties (5–4) after a 0–0 draw after extra-time.
• June 22 – Diego Maradona scores a goal with his hand, calling it the "Hand of God goal".
• June 29 – In the final of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, played for second time in Mexico City, Azteca Stadium, Argentina defeats West Germany 3–2 to win their second World Cup title.
• European Cup: Steaua București 0–0 Barcelona; Steaua București won 2–0 on penalties
• UEFA Cup: Two legs; 1st leg Real Madrid 5–1 1. FC Köln; 2nd leg 1.FC Köln 2–0 Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid CF won 5–3 on aggregate
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: Dinamo Kyiv 3–0 Atlético Madrid
• UEFA Super Cup: Steaua București 1–0 Dinamo Kyiv
• Copa Libertadores de América: Two legs; 1st leg América de Cali 1–2 River Plate; 2nd leg River Plate 1–0 América. River Plate won 3–1 on aggregate
• England – FA Cup: Liverpool won 3–1 over Everton
• England – Milk Cup (League Cup): Oxford United won 3–0 over Queens Park Rangers
• November 6 – Alex Ferguson is appointed manager of Manchester United
• December 14 – Argentina's River Plate wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo by defeating Romania's Steaua București 1–0. The only goal is scored by Antonio Alzamendi in the 28th minute.

Winners Club National Championship

Asia

• - Qatar – Al-Rayyan

Europe

• - Austria – Austria Wien
• - England – Liverpool
• - FC Kuusysi
• - France – Paris Saint-Germain
• - Hungary – Budapest Honvéd
• - Ireland - Shamrock Rovers
• - Italy – Juventus
• - Netherlands - PSV Eindhoven
• - Portugal – Porto
• - Romania – Steaua București
• - Scotland – Celtic
• - Spain – Real Madrid
• - Turkey – Beşiktaş
• - West Germany – Bayern Munich

North America

•  Canada – Toronto Blizzard (NSL)
•  Mexico – Rayados de Monterrey
•  United States – Hollywood Kickers (WSA)

South America

• - Argentina – River Plate
• - Bolivia – The Strongest
• - Brazil – São Paulo
• - Colombia – América de Cali
• - Paraguay – Sol de América

International Tournaments

• African Cup of Nations in Egypt (March 7 – 21 1986)
  1.  Egypt
  2.  Cameroon
  3.  Ivory Coast
• FIFA World Cup in Mexico (May 31 – June 29, 1986)
  1.  Argentina
  2.  West Germany
  3.  France

Births

January

• January 2
  • Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu, Turkish-Bosnian footballer (d. 2012)
  • Nicolás Bertolo, Argentinian footballer
• January 4
  • Younès Kaboul, French footballer
  • James Milner, English footballer
• January 7 — Grant Leadbitter, English footballer
• January 8
  • Jorge Claros, Honduran international footballer
  • David Silva, Spanish international footballer
• January 9
  • Jéferson Gomes, Brazilian footballer
  • Uwe Hünemeier, German footballer
• January 10
  • Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
  • Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
• January 17 – Mahamed Habib N'Diaye, Malian footballer^[1]
• January 18 – Maksim Berdnik, former Russian professional footballer^[2]
• January 19 – Yann Schneider, French footballer^[3]
• January 22 – David Martin, English footballer
• January 23 – Vusi Ncogo, South African footballer^[4]
• January 24 – Oscar Centurión, Paraguayan footballer^[5]

February

• February 3
  • David Edwards, Welsh footballer
  • Gregory van der Wiel, Dutch footballer
• February 6 – Ismael Barragán, Spanish footballer^[6]
• February 10 – Roberto Jiménez, Spanish footballer
• February 19 – Marta, Brazilian footballer^[7]
• February 25 – Mikhail Malykhin, former Russian professional footballer^[8]

March

• March 4
  • Arturo Carbonaro, Italian footballer
  • Eldar Getokov, former Russian professional footballer^[9]
  • Fasal Shahid, English cricketer^[10]
• March 16 — Boaz Solossa, Indonesian footballer
• March 19 — José Babak, Paraguayan footballer^[11]
• March 27 — Manuel Neuer, German international footballer
• March 28 — Choi Ki-suk, South Korea footballer
• March 12 — František Rajtoral, Czech international footballer (died 2017)
• March 31 — Tony McMahon, English footballer

April

• April 2 — Sébastien Van Aerschot, Belgian footballer^[12]
• April 7 — Elton Jose Xavier Gomes, Brazilian footballer
• April 25 — Anton Burenkov, former Russian footballer^[13]

May

• May 4 – Sakatar Singh, Indian footballer^[14]
• May 10 – Emilio Izaguirre, Honduran footballer
• May 20 – Dexter Blackstock, Antiguan-English footballer
• May 27 – Mario Mandžukić, Croatian footballer
• May 30 – Sergei Nyukhalov, former Russian professional footballer^[15]

June

• June 7 – Olivier Uwingabire, Rwandan footballer^[16]
• June 14 – Nikita Lushin, former Russian professional footballer^[17]
• June 19 – Mahamoud Mroivili, Comorian international footballer^[18]
• June 23 – Mariano, Brazilian footballer
• June 24 – Jean, Brazilian footballer
• June 27 – Mohammed Sannie, Ghanaian footballer^[19]

July

• July 11 – Raúl García, Spanish footballer
• July 18 – Carlos Villa, Guatemalan professional footballer^[20]
• July 22 – Szymon Pawlak, Polish footballer
• July 22 – Ahmed Rahmatullah, Qatari footballer

August

• August 11 – Saad Al-Yami, Saudi Arabian footballer^[21]
• August 13 – Erald Hysi, Albanian footballer^[22]
• August 19 – Kamil Karcz, Polish footballer^[23]
• August 24 – Gabriel Noah, Cameroonian professional footballer^[24]
• August 27 – Elina Johansson, Swedish footballer^[25]
• August 29 – Nicolás López, Uruguayan footballer^[26]

September

• September 21 — Roger Tchouassi, Rwandan footballer^[27]
• September 28 —
  • Andrés Guardado, Mexican footballer
  • Mahmoud Rashdan, Qatari footballer^[28]

October

• October 7 — Gunnar Nielsen, Faroese footballer
• October 13 — Bawa Mumuni, Ghanaian footballer^[29]
• October 21 — Edemir Rodríguez, Bolivian footballer

November

• November 7 — Flavia Schwarz, Swiss former footballer
• November 9 — Roger Mathis, Swiss professional footballer
• November 25 — Craig Gardner, English youth international and coach

December

• December 2 —
  • Claudiu Keșerü, Romanian footballer
  • Adam Le Fondre, English footballer
  • Piauí, Brazilian footballer (died 2014)
• December 10 — Matthew Bates, English footballer, manager and coach
• December 19 — Ryan Babel, Dutch footballer
• December 28 — Igor Sani, Guinea-Bissauan international footballer^[30]

Deaths

January

March

April

• 6 April – Raimundo Orsi, Argentine/Italian striker, winner of the 1934 FIFA World Cup. (84)

July

August

• 1 August – José María Vidal, Spanish footballer

September