Why do some people call it ‘soccer’ and others call it ‘football’? If you’ve ever talked about soccer with someone from another country, you’ve probably noticed that not everyone calls the sport by the same name! While Canadians and Americans usually call it ‘soccer’, most people around the world, including fans in England where the sport originated, call it ‘football’. So why are there two different names for the exact same sport? Keep reading for a breakdown at how ‘soccer’ and ‘football’ became two names for the beautiful game!
To understand why we have two different names for soccer, we must go all the way back to the 19th century in England, when there were several different games that were also called ‘football’. In 1863, the Football Association was formed and created a standard set of rules for the sport. The game played under these rules became known as ‘association football’, which helped distinguish it from another popular version of the sport known as ‘rugby football.’ The two games were similar but there was a major difference. Rugby allowed players to pick up and carry the ball, while association football developed into what we now know as soccer.
Since there were two different types of football being played at the time, calling one ‘association football’ and one ‘rugby football’ made it easier to tell them apart. But you probably won’t be shocked to learn that most people didn’t want to have to say the full thing every time they talked about the sport, so eventually the names started getting shortened!
In the 1880s, students at Oxford University had a habit of turning words into slang by shortening them and adding an ‘er’ at the end. For example, rugby football was called ‘rugger’. Although this isn’t 100% confirmed, the theory is that students took the ‘soc’ from the middle of ‘association’ and added the ‘er’ to the end, creating ‘soccer’. It was also noted as being spelled ‘socker’ in its early days. Nobody knows exactly who came up with the word, but historians have found evidence of ‘soccer’ being used in England as early as the 1880s. And shockingly, soccer’ was pretty normal to use in England for a very long time. Stefan Szymanski, a professor at the University of Michigan, grew up in England in the 60s and 70s and says that he never remembered ‘soccer’ being considered a problem when he was a kid. In fact, British newspapers continued to use the word into the 20th century!
As association football spread to the US, another sport was becoming extremely popular at the same time! American football developed from a combination of rugby and association football and eventually became known as simply ‘football’ in the United States. This created some confusion when someone in America would say they were going to watch football. Americans would assume this meant the sport played with helmets and shoulder pads. So the term ‘soccer’ became a way to distinguish association football from American football. The trend spread and soon countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa started using the term ‘soccer’, partly because they have their own versions of football or other popular sports that use the same word. In Canada for example, ‘football’ can refer to Canadian football, while in Australia there's Australian rules football. In Ireland, there's also Gaelic football!
The funny thing about the famous soccer vs football debate is that there isn’t really a universally correct answer! If you’re in England, saying ‘football’ will almost always make it clear which sport you mean. If you’re in the United States, saying ‘football’ will probably have someone thinking about the NFL. In Canada, Australia, and other countries, there are similar reasons why ‘soccer’ can be a more useful term. At the end of the day, whether you call it soccer or football, you’re still talking about the same beautiful game. The name might change depending on where you’re from, but the sport, the fans, and the excitement around it won’t!
Whether you call it soccer or football, there’s no better way to celebrate your love for the beautiful game than with your own collection of soccer trading cards, stickers, and memorabilia. Shop our wide selection today at SoccerCards.ca!
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