If you know someone who loves football and lives in the United States of America, there is a high chance they are talking about a different sport. It’s the one they play, which doesn’t primarily include the use of feet, and features an egg, not a ball. It is what Americans call soccer, a hugely polarizing and controversial word.
Those not from the USA get offended when someone refers to their favorite sport as soccer. “It’s an American thing”, they’d say. “Just shut up and call it FOOTBALL,” an Eleventh Minute follower added.
But what many (or some) of you may not know is that the term soccer is actually British. The sun truly doesn’t set on the British Empire, eh?
See, it was coined by British students in the 19th century, a period of time when football was primarily played only by the wealthier Brits. They simply wanted a nickname for the game they loved, and thus, soccer was born.
Why soccer?
To truly understand the difference between soccer and football and the origin of the two words, it is important to dive into the history of the beautiful game as a whole. But mind you, this was before the beautiful game was beautiful. In fact, it was ugly. It was harsh, brutal, and the rules were somewhat comparable to rugby.
There, we hit the right spot. Football and rugby, for a long time, were sort of like two sides of a similar-looking coin.
In football, there weren’t teams, fields, or dedicated players. An entire town full of men would kick around a single ball, trying to get it to the goal. It was vicious, violent, and bloody. Roy Keane’s crunching tackles would be put to shame. Using both hands and legs was permitted, and players could pick up the ball and run with it.
Then, a time came when people decided to establish a formal set of rules for the game. If we had a time machine at Eleventh Minute, we’d just travel back in time to the 19th century, and be like, “Duh!!!”.
But as the case is with the world today, of course, there were two kinds of people. Conservatives and Liberals, to some extent (a way of looking at it). One group wanted hands to be a part of football (ridiculous etymology) while the other group wanted to limit it to their feet, and maybe… their heads?
This gave rise to what was perhaps football’s first-ever rivalry. It was between the sport itself and another sport. The upper class was in control of this shenanigans, and the love for each game was split between two of England’s elitist schools back then. The school of Rugby championed the use of hands, while Eton advocated for a game focused solely on footwork.
In 1863, a meeting between the two groups split the sport into Rugby Football (for the hand holders) and Association Football (for the normal folk).
Still wondering where the word “soccer” came from? Take another look at “Association Football” and consider the common English habit of giving nicknames to people and things.
Yes, we’re getting to why soccer is NOT different from football
“Er” is just one of the, um, sounds that Brits love adding to the end of nous to give it a somewhat affectionate feel. Let’s bring James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur into the fold. They call him Madders. Not because he’s mad. But because it’s his nickname.
So, Association Football eventually started being called “soccer.” And just like their language, the Brits took over this word to the U.S.A., where a bastardized version of rugby was in the works.
The term “soccer” was adopted in the U.S. to distinguish it from their version of football, which evolved from rugby. e Association Football grew popular worldwide, especially in Europe and South America. But U.S. being U.S rugby gained more traction in the U.S. during its early years. Over time, rugby was modified into what we now call American football, which dominated the sports scene.
Before the England vs USA clash, let’s settle this!
Football or Soccer? 😬 #ENGUSA #FIFAWorldCup
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) November 25, 2022
To avoid confusion, Americans began using “soccer” for what the rest of the world calls football. Even as soccer’s popularity grew in the U.S., especially with leagues like MLS, the name stuck, sparking debates between American and global fans ever since.
To put it simply, there isn’t any difference between soccer and football. The names might confuse someone new to the sport, but they’re just two ways of talking about the same thing.
The rules are universal. Whether you call it football in London or soccer in Los Angeles, every player follows the laws laid down by the International Football Association Board, a body made up of FIFA and the four UK associations.
So really, the only thing separating football and soccer is the word. The game is the same beautiful chaos everywhere. To settle it once and for all, we want FIFA to host a showdown between the two. This is only the second game we have ever pitched and we just hope they listen someday.
Here’s the twist. If England lose, we drop the word football forever and call it soccer. Ready for that pressure, Harry Kane?
