Why Is Football Called Soccer in America? Explained

Most of the world calls the game football, but in the United States, Canada, Australia and a few other countries, it is called soccer, and that difference causes endless arguments online, with fans in each country insisting the other is wrong. The truth is more surprising than either side expects: the word soccer was invented in England, not in America, and it was once the normal word in Britain too. The game we call football was once known as association football, to distinguish it from rugby football, and students at Oxford University in the 1880s shortened association to assoc, and then, in the slang of the time, added er, to make soccer. The word football, meanwhile, was claimed in America by a different game, American football, which grew from rugby and became the most popular sport in the United States. This guide explains where both words came from, why America kept soccer, why Britain dropped it, and why the argument will never be settled, because both sides are right, and both sides are wrong, in different ways.

The Oxford Students Who Invented Soccer

The word soccer was born at Oxford University in the 1880s, when students had a habit of shortening words and adding er to the end, a slang that also gave us rugger, for rugby, and footer, for football. Association football, the full name of the game, was shortened to assoc, and then, following the fashion, to soccer, with the c pronounced as a soft s. The word was used in England for decades, in newspapers, in books, and in everyday speech, and it was not an American invention at all. The Football Association, founded in 1863, called the game association football, and the word soccer was a natural nickname, like calling a bicycle a bike. The first known use of the word in print was in the 1880s, and by the early twentieth century, soccer was used in Britain, in America, and in Australia, without anyone thinking it was wrong or foreign.

Association Football vs Rugby Football: Why the Name Mattered

In the nineteenth century, there were many kinds of football, and the name mattered because the games were different. Association football, with its rules written by the Football Association in 1863, banned handling the ball and hacking, which was tripping an opponent, while rugby football, with its rules written at Rugby School, allowed carrying the ball and tackling. The two games split, and the word football was used for both, which caused confusion, so people used association and rugby to tell them apart, and then soccer and rugger as short forms. In England, the two games coexisted, with association football becoming the more popular, and rugby becoming the game of the public schools and the north. In America, a third game grew from rugby, which became American football, and that game took the name football for itself, leaving association football to be called soccer, to avoid confusion. The names were practical, not political, and they were chosen to tell similar games apart.

How America Took Football and Gave the Name Away

American football grew from rugby in the late nineteenth century, when Walter Camp, known as the father of American football, introduced the line of scrimmage, the down system, and the forward pass, turning a rugby-like game into something new. The game became popular in American colleges, then in the professional NFL, founded in 1920, and it grew into the most popular sport in the United States, with the Super Bowl watched by more than a hundred million people. Because American football was called football, the other game, association football, needed a different name, and soccer, which was already in use, was the obvious choice. The word was not imposed by Americans, it was inherited from the British, and it stuck, because it was useful. In Canada, the same thing happened, because Canadian football, similar to American football, also took the name football, and association football became soccer there too.

Why Britain Stopped Saying Soccer

Britain stopped saying soccer in the second half of the twentieth century, and the reason is partly snobbery and partly nationalism. After the Second World War, as American culture became more influential, the word soccer began to be seen as American, even though it was British, and British fans, who wanted to distinguish their game from American culture, stopped using it. The word football became the only acceptable word, and soccer became a word that marked you as an outsider, as someone who did not understand the game. By the 1970s, soccer was rarely used in Britain, except by older people, and by the 1980s, it was seen as an Americanism, even though it was not. The change was not official, it was cultural, and it shows how words can change their meaning, not because of their origin, but because of who uses them, and when.

Australia, Canada and the Other Soccer Countries

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland also use the word soccer, or have used it, for similar reasons: they have another game called football, and they need a different word for association football. In Australia, the most popular sports are Australian rules football, which is called footy, and rugby league, which is called football in some states, so soccer was the clearest name for the world game. In recent years, Australia has moved towards calling it football, with the governing body renaming itself Football Australia in 2020, but many Australians still say soccer, and the A-League, the top competition, is still called soccer by most fans. In Canada, soccer is the standard word, because Canadian football, like American football, is called football. In South Africa, soccer is used alongside football, and in Ireland, soccer is used to distinguish the game from Gaelic football. The pattern is the same everywhere: where another game owns the name football, the world game becomes soccer.

The Argument Online and Why Both Sides Are Right

The argument about soccer versus football is one of the oldest on the internet, and it will never be settled, because both sides have a point. The football side says that the game is called football in most of the world, by most of the people, and by the governing body, FIFA, which stands for the International Federation of Association Football, and that is true. The soccer side says that the word soccer was invented in England, that it is a legitimate name, and that in America, football means a different game, and that is also true. The argument is not really about words, it is about identity, about who owns the game, and about cultural pride, and that is why it gets heated. The sensible answer is that both words are correct, in their place, and that a fan in London can say football, a fan in New York can say soccer, and they are talking about the same game, and they should enjoy it together, rather than arguing about what to call it.

What the Name Tells Us About Language

The story of soccer and football tells us something about language, which is that words change, they travel, and they mean different things in different places. A word that was born in Oxford, that was used in London, that travelled to New York, and that was then rejected in London as American, is a word with a complicated history, and its history is a reminder that language is not fixed. The same is true of other words: the British say lift, Americans say elevator, the British say biscuit, Americans say cookie, and no one argues about those words with the same passion, because they do not carry the same identity. Football and soccer carry identity, because the game matters to people, and the name matters because the game matters. The next time someone argues about it, remember that the word soccer is British, the word football is universal, and both are part of the same story, a story that began in England, in the nineteenth century, with students shortening a word and adding er.

The First Football Rules and the Split

The Football Association was founded in London in 1863, when representatives of eleven clubs met at the Freemasons’ Tavern and agreed on thirteen rules that became the basis of association football. The rules banned hacking and carrying the ball, which were allowed in rugby, and they created a game that was about passing, dribbling, and shooting, rather than tackling. The split between association and rugby was not immediate, because clubs argued about the rules, and some left to form the Rugby Football Union in 1871, but by the 1880s the two games were separate, with their own rules, their own competitions, and their own fans. The FA Cup, first played in 1872, became the oldest football competition in the world, and it helped spread association football across England, then across Britain, and then around the world.

How the Game Spread Around the World

Association football spread from England to Scotland, to Wales, and to Ireland, and then, through British sailors, traders, and workers, to Europe, to South America, and to the rest of the world. In Brazil, the game was brought by Charles Miller, a Scotsman who returned from England in 1894 with two footballs and a rulebook, and it became the national sport. In Argentina, British railway workers played the game, and it became a passion. In Italy, in Germany, and in Spain, the game grew through clubs founded by British expatriates, and by the early twentieth century, football was played in almost every country. FIFA, founded in 1904, became the governing body, and the World Cup, first played in 1930, became the biggest sporting event in the world, watched by billions.

The Word Football in Other Languages

In most languages, the game is called a version of football, with the word for foot and ball combined, such as fútbol in Spanish, futebol in Portuguese, football in French, and Fußball in German. In some languages, the game has a different name, such as calcio in Italian, which means kick, and which reflects the Italian idea that the game is about kicking. In the United States, the word soccer is used, and in Australia, the word soccer is also used, although football is becoming more common. The variety of names shows that the game is global, and that each country has made it their own, with their own word, their own style, and their own passion. The name does not matter as much as the game, and the game is the same everywhere, with a ball, two goals, and twenty-two players.

Soccer in America Today

Soccer in America has grown rapidly in recent decades, with Major League Soccer, founded in 1996, now having thirty teams, with stadiums that sell out, and with fans who are passionate and organised. The United States women’s team has won the World Cup four times, and the men’s team has reached the knockout stage of the World Cup several times, and the sport is now the most played youth sport in America, with millions of children playing it. The 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, brought the game to a new audience, and the 2027 season will build on that, with more fans, more investment, and more attention. Soccer in America is no longer a foreign game, it is an American game, played by Americans, watched by Americans, and loved by Americans, and its future is bright.

The Beautiful Game and Its Many Names

The game is called the beautiful game in Brazil, where it is joga bonito, and that name captures what the sport means to millions of people around the world. It is a game that is played in every country, on every continent, by children in the street, by professionals in stadiums, and by amateurs on Sundays, and it is the most popular sport on earth, with more than three billion fans. The name, whether football or soccer, does not change the game, because the game is the same: a ball, two goals, and the joy of scoring. The next time you hear someone say soccer, remember that they are talking about the same beautiful game, and that the name is only a word, while the game is everything.

The debate will continue, but the game will go on, with children playing it in every country, with fans cheering in every stadium, and with the World Cup bringing the world together every four years. That is the real story, not the name, but the game, and the game is the same, whatever you call it, and it will outlive every argument about it, because it is loved by billions, and love does not need a single name.

My Take:

I think the word soccer is a wonderful example of how language works, and I think the people who argue about it are missing the point. The word was invented in England, by Oxford students, as a nickname, and it was used in Britain for decades, before it was dropped, not because it was wrong, but because it was seen as American. That is a strange history, and it shows that words do not belong to countries, they belong to people, and people change their minds about them. I say football, because I grew up saying football, and that is my word, but I do not think a person who says soccer is wrong, because they are using a word that is older than the argument, and that was invented in the same country as the game. I think we should be less angry about words, and more grateful that the game has two names, because a game with two names is a game that is loved in many places.

My strongest feeling is about the snobbery in the argument, because I have seen British fans mock Americans for saying soccer, as if it were a sign of ignorance, when in fact it is a sign of history. The Americans did not invent the word, the British did, and the British fans who mock it are mocking their own history, without knowing it. I think that snobbery is a problem in football, because the game is global, it belongs to everyone, and no one country owns it, or its name. I have met American fans who love the game, who watch the Premier League at dawn, who know more about football than many British fans, and they say soccer, because that is the word they grew up with, and they should not be mocked for it. I think the game is better when it is welcoming, and a welcoming game does not mock people for the word they use.

I also believe the American game, American football, deserves its name, because it is a different game, with different rules, and it needs a name that tells it apart. The Americans did not steal the name football, they inherited a game called football, they changed it, and they kept the name, which is a natural thing to do. The world game, association football, needed another name in America, and soccer was available, and it worked. I think that is a practical solution, not a theft, and I think the people who say Americans should call the game football are asking them to rename their most popular sport, which is unrealistic. A name is a practical thing, and in America, soccer is practical, because it avoids confusion, and avoiding confusion is what names are for.

Another thing I care about is the way the argument distracts from the game itself, because while fans argue about what to call it, they are not talking about the football, the goals, the players, and the matches that make the game great. I have seen arguments about soccer versus football go on for hours, with no one changing their mind, and no one learning anything, while a great match is being played, and no one is watching it. I think that is a waste, because the game is the point, not the name, and a fan who spends their time arguing about a word is a fan who is missing the game. I would rather talk about a great goal, a great save, or a great team, than about a word, because the goal will be remembered, and the argument will be forgotten, and the game is what matters.

Finally, I think the story of soccer is a reminder that history is more complicated than we think, and that the things we take for granted often have surprising origins. I grew up thinking soccer was an American word, and I was wrong, and learning that I was wrong was a pleasure, because it showed me that the world is more interesting than my assumptions. I hope other fans have the same experience, that they learn where the word came from, that they stop mocking each other, and that they enjoy the game together, whatever they call it. The game is football, the game is soccer, and the game is beautiful, and that is the only thing that matters, and it is the thing we should celebrate, not argue about.

There is one more thing I want to say, and it is about the future of the word, because I think soccer will survive, and I think football will survive, and both will be used for as long as the game is played. In Australia, the governing body has renamed itself Football Australia, but the fans still say soccer, and in America, the league is called Major League Soccer, and that name is not going to change. I think that is fine, because a game with two names is a game that belongs to many people, and many people is what football needs. I will keep saying football, my American friends will keep saying soccer, and we will keep watching the same game, and that is how it should be, because the game is bigger than its name, and it always will be.

I also think the growth of soccer in America is one of the great stories in sport, because it shows that a game can cross cultures, can be adopted by a new country, and can become part of that country’s identity. I have watched Major League Soccer grow from a small league, with empty stadiums, to a league with thirty teams, with full stadiums, and with fans who sing, who chant, and who love their club. I think that growth is a testament to the game, because football is a universal language, and it speaks to people in every country, in every language, and in every culture. I hope soccer continues to grow in America, because a strong American game is good for world football, and it will bring new fans, new players, and new ideas to the sport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Americans call football soccer?

Americans call it soccer because American football took the name football in the United States, so association football needed a different name, and soccer, a British word, was already in use.

Where did the word soccer come from?

The word soccer was invented in England at Oxford University in the 1880s, as a shortening of association, with er added in the slang of the time, the same way rugby became rugger.

Did Americans invent the word soccer?

No, the word soccer was invented in England, not America, and it was used in Britain for decades before it fell out of use there in the second half of the twentieth century.

Why did Britain stop saying soccer?

Britain stopped using soccer after the Second World War, partly because it came to be seen as an American word, even though it was British, and football became the only acceptable term.

Which countries say soccer instead of football?

The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland use soccer, or have used it, because they have another game called football, such as American football or Australian rules.

What does FIFA stand for?

FIFA stands for the International Federation of Association Football, from the French Fédération Internationale de Football Association, which shows the game’s full name is association football.