Is it football or soccer? Both are correct, but the answer depends on where you are, and the story behind it might surprise you.
Should I call it football or soccer?
The truth is that both are correct. It just depends on which country you are in.
In Britain, it’s football. But in the USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the word football means a different sport. That’s why those countries need the word soccer for the sport that Osasuna play at El Sadar.
But the sport started in England, so shouldn’t we all call it football?
Actually, following that logic, we should all call it soccer!
Huh? How can that be?
Football was originally the name of a game played in England with no agreed set of rules. The name referred to players being on their feet, as opposed to on horseback.
The big argument was about whether players could use their hands as well as their feet. The debate ended with two different sports:
- The sport that allowed hands was named after the English school where it was popular, Rugby, and called rugby football.
- The sport that didn’t allow hands was called association football. This was shortened to assoc. football, then soccer football and finally just soccer.
Over time, soccer became much more popular in Britain and became known simply as football, while rugby football became just rugby. So in Britain the word soccer, although still used occasionally, became largely unnecessary.
In other countries, the story was different. Soccer didn’t become the most popular code, so football was used for the sport that did. The word soccer was still needed for our sport.
So in those countries, football means American football?
In the USA, yes. Rugby became the more popular code there, but the rules changed over time and it became what we now call American football (or in the USA, simply football). In Canada, football means Canadian football, which is similar to American football but with slightly different rules.
But they don’t use their feet much!
True! In American football, only one or two specialist players per team usually kick the ball, and only a few times per match. So is football the wrong name? Not really. Remember, the name originally referred to players being on their feet, not kicking with them. And there are even more sports called football…
What sports are called football in other countries?
Ireland: Football means Gaelic football. It’s mostly played only in Ireland, but it is hugely popular there, with big crowds at the stadium and on TV. Players can use their hands, but there is a lot of kicking, and by every player on the team.
New Zealand: Football (or footy) often refers to rugby league. Isn’t that just rugby? Not quite! The sport you probably know as rugby is rugby union, which is also very popular in New Zealand. Rugby league is a variation that was traditionally more popular in working-class communities. It has some similarities with American football: most of the kicking is done by just a couple of players.
Australia: Here it’s a little more complicated, because it depends on where you are. In two states, football usually means rugby league. In the rest of the country, it means Australian football. Like Gaelic football, it involves lots of kicking by every player, and it’s little known outside the country despite being Australia’s biggest winter sport. Fun fact: it’s the only football code where you can score a goal only by kicking the ball.
Conclusion
So, both football and soccer are correct! Soccer always means the sport in which Spain are currently world champions in both the men’s and women’s game. Football can mean that sport too, but depending on where you are, it can also mean something completely different.
And you? Do you say football or soccer? Tell us in the comments!
By Andrew McLeod
Comentarios recientes