In today’s world, the sport of football is known and loved by many countries around the globe. However, what many may not realize is that the term “soccer” was actually used to refer to the game before it was called football. So how did this come to be? Let’s dig into the origins of this naming discrepancy.
The Origins of Football
Football, as we know it today, has its roots in England during the 19th century. The game was popularized in schools and universities, where different variations of the sport were played. Rules were slowly standardized, and the modern version of football began to take shape.
During this time, the sport was commonly referred to as “football” in England. In fact, the term “football” had been used for various forms of the game for centuries, as it simply referred to any game played on foot as opposed to on horseback. The use of the term was not specific to one particular version of the sport.
The Birth of Soccer
The term “soccer” actually originated in England as well. It was a colloquial abbreviation of the word “association,” as in the Football Association. The Football Association was formed in 1863 to establish a standard set of rules for the game, leading to the codification of modern football.
As the sport grew in popularity, differentiating between the various forms of football became necessary. In England, rugby football was another popular sport, leading to the need for a way to distinguish between the two. The term “soccer” began to be used to refer specifically to association football, or what we now simply call football.
Why the Change?
So why did the term “soccer” eventually fall out of favor in England in favor of “football”? One theory suggests that as football became more established and dominant, the need to differentiate between rugby football and association football lessened. As a result, the shorthand term “soccer” began to be dropped in favor of simply calling the sport “football.”
However, the term “soccer” continued to be used in other countries, such as the United States and Australia, where other forms of football (such as American football and Australian Rules football) were more popular. Even today, the term “soccer” is still commonly used in these countries, alongside “football.”
In conclusion, the origins of why football was called soccer first can be traced back to its beginnings in England and the need to differentiate between different forms of the sport. While the term “soccer” may have fallen out of use in its country of origin, its legacy lives on in many parts of the world as a beloved and universally recognized sport.