• February 8 – The Confederation of African Football is founded at a meeting in Khartoum, Sudan.
• October 19 – Scottish club Celtic F.C. beat their deadliest rivals Rangers F.C. 7–1 in the Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
• November 20 – Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam makes its European debut by defeating DDR's SC Wismut (1-3) in the first round of the European Cup.

•   Argentina: River Plate
•   Belgium: R. Antwerp F.C.
•   Ecuador: Emelec
•   England: Manchester United
•   France: AS Saint-Etienne
•   Hungary: Vasas SC
•   Israel: Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
•   Italy: A.C. Milan
•   Netherlands: Ajax Amsterdam
•   Paraguay: Olimpia Asunción
•   Soviet Union: FC Dynamo Moscow
•   Spain: Real Madrid
•   Sweden: IFK Norrköping
•   West Germany: Borussia Dortmund

• African Cup of Nations in Sudan (February 10 – 16 1957)
  1.   Egypt
  2.   Ethiopia
  3.   Sudan
• 1957 South American Championship in Peru (March 7 – April 6, 1957)
  1.   Argentina
  2.   Brazil
• 1957 British Home Championship (October 6, 1956 – April 6, 1957)

  England

• Copa Julio Argentino Roca in Brazil (July 7 – 10 1957)
  1.   Brazil
  2.   Argentina

• January 5 – Karl Allgöwer, German footballer
• January 11 – Bryan Robson, English footballer and manager
• January 19 – Fabrizio Casanova, retired Swiss footballer^[1]
• February 1 – Walter Schachner, Austrian footballer and manager
• February 9 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
• February 28 – Jan Ceulemans, Belgian footballer and manager
• March 12 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer
• May 5 – Said Azimshah Garibzada, Afghan-born former football player and trainer
• May 9 – Fulvio Collovati, Italian footballer
• July 15 — Craig Martin, Canadian soccer player
• September 3 – Walter Kelsch, German footballer
• September 6 – Zhivko Gospodinov, Bulgarian footballer
• September 11 – Plamen Markov, Bulgarian footballer
• September 11 – Preben Elkjær, Danish footballer
• September 26 – Klaus Augenthaler, German footballer and manager
• October 8 – Antonio Cabrini, Italian footballer
• October 25 – Piet Wildschut, Dutch footballer
• October 27 – Glenn Hoddle, English footballer and manager
• November 17 – Bob Oldridge, English former professional footballer^[2]

January edit

• January 18 – Alvaro Gestido, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the 1930 FIFA World Cup. (49)

October edit

• October 5 – José Leandro Andrade, Uruguayan midfielder, winner of the 1930 FIFA World Cup. (55, Tuberculosis)