Retired numbers in association football

Football clubs around the world sometimes retire squad numbers to recognise players' loyal service, or tragic death.

Background

This practice, long established in the major North American sports, is a recent development in football since squad numbers were not widely used until the 1990s. Before then, it was typical for players in the starting lineup to be issued numbers 1 to 11 by formation/position on a match-by-match basis, and substitutes to be numbered from 12 upwards, meaning a player might wear different numbers during the season if they were to play in different positions for tactical reasons, or simply not be a regular in the starting lineup.

Retiring a player's number usually occurs after the player has left the team or retired. It honours a player who has meant so much to his club that they retire the shirt number that the player wore during their time there, meaning no other player is permitted to use that number in the future. In some cases, such as Jason Mayélé, Vittorio Mero, Marc-Vivien Foé, Miklós Fehér, Ray Jones, David di Tommaso and Antonio Puerta, numbers have been retired to posthumously honour a player who died in tragic circumstances while still active. Also, Norwegian club Fredrikstad have retired Dagfinn Enerly's number following an on-pitch accident that left Enerly paralyzed.

National teams Argentina and Cameroon have been prevented by FIFA rules dealing with squad numbers for Finals tournaments, from retiring the numbers of Diego Maradona (10) and Marc-Vivien Foé (17) respectively, but in other competitions or friendlies national associations may assign numbers according to criteria of their choosing.

Some clubs dedicate a number to their fans, and do not issue it to any player. The most common number for this practice is 12, from descriptions of the fans as the "twelfth man". Clubs and teams reserving number 12 for their supporters include:
*flagicon|DEN AGF
*flagicon|SCO Aberdeen FC
*flagicon|SWE AIK
*flagicon|BRA Atlético Mineiro
*flagicon|AUT Austrian national team
*flagicon|BRA Avaí F.C.
*flagicon|GER Bayern Munich
*flagicon|ENG Bristol City
*flagicon|ENG Bristol Rovers
*flagicon|IRL Cork City F.C.
*flagicon|IRL Shamrock Rovers F.C.
*flagicon|RUS CSKA Moscow
*flagicon|TUR Fenerbahçe
*flagicon|HUN Ferencváros
*flagicon|NED Feyenoord
*flagicon|BRA Flamengo
*flagicon|ITA Genoa
*flagicon|ENG Grimsby Town
*flagicon|SWE Hammarby
*flagicon|ITA Lazio
*flagicon|ITA Lecce
*flagicon|FRA Lens
*flagicon|SWE Malmö FF
*flagicon|DEN OB
*flagicon|CYP Omonia
*flagicon|GRE PAOK
*flagicon|ENG Plymouth Argyle
*flagicon|ENG Portsmouth
*flagicon|NED PSV
*flagicon|ENG Scunthorpe United
*flagicon|ENG Stockport County
*flagicon|ITA Torino
*flagicon|ENG Reading
*flagicon|HUN Újpest
*flagicon|NOR Vålerenga
*flagicon|RUS Zenit Saint Petersburg
*flagicon|MEX Club de Fútbol Monterrey
*flagicon|MEX UANL Tigres
*flagicon|GER Werder Bremen
*flagicon|MLT Valletta F.C.
*flagicon|NOR Start

Reading and Bryne reserve the number 13 for their supporters, Panathinaikos reserve this number in honour of "Gate 13", the ultras based in the respective gate in home matches. Norwich City also reserve the number 13 shirt for "the fans" while Oldham Athletic reserve the number 40 for their fans.

After their 15 point deduction, Leeds United retired the number 15 shirt for the 2007-08 season only. [cite web | title=Squad Numbers | url=http://www.leedsunited.com/page/NewsroomDetail/0,,10273~1355522,00.html | work=LeedsUnited.com | accessdaymonth=1 Aug | accessyear=2008 ]

Retired numbers

Special Cases

References