Donald Trump recently joked about signing an executive order to change the name “soccer” back to “football” in the United States, sparking a conversation about the sport’s unique nomenclature.
The Presidential Pitch: A Joking Executive Order
During the Club World Cup, following Chelsea’s win at MetLife Stadium, former US President Donald Trump engaged in a lighthearted exchange with DAZN reporter Emily Austin.
Austin asked Trump about the difference between the British “football” and the American “soccer” for the popular game. Trump initially remarked, “They call it football, we call it soccer. I’m not sure if that change can be made very easily.”
When Austin playfully suggested he could issue an executive order to make “football” the official term, Trump reportedly “guffawed” and responded, “I think we could do that.” While clearly a joke, it highlighted a common point of discussion for fans on both sides of the Atlantic.
From “Assoccer” to “Soccer”: A British Origin Story
Surprisingly, the term “soccer” actually originated in England. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, it’s a slang abbreviation of “association football.”
After the Football Association was formed in the late 1800s, it codified the rules for “association football.” However, this sport competed with other football codes, particularly rugby football.
Students at Oxford University in the 1880s began using playful slang. They distinguished “rugger” (rugby football) from “assoccer” (association football), which was then shortened to “soccer” by adding the common “-er” suffix.
Though “soccer” gained traction as a nickname, “association football” eventually became simply “football” in Great Britain as rugby football became known as “rugby.”
Across the Pond: How “Soccer” Stuck in the USA
The story takes another twist in the United States. In the late 19th century, a new sport emerged, blending elements of both rugby and association football. This became known as “gridiron football,” or simply “American football.”
As American football grew immensely popular, association football players in the US needed a distinct term for their sport. They adopted “soccer” to differentiate it.
By 1945, the United States Football Association even changed its name to the United States Soccer Football Association, eventually dropping “Football” altogether. What began as a British campus nickname firmly rooted itself as the official name for the sport in America.
This pattern isn’t unique to the US. In countries like Canada, Ireland (with Gaelic football), and Australia (with Australian rules football), “soccer” is often used to avoid confusion with their dominant local football codes.
- Donald Trump joked about an executive order to rename “soccer” to “football” in the US.
- The term “soccer” originated in England as a slang abbreviation for “association football.”
- Oxford University students coined “soccer” to distinguish it from “rugby football” (rugger).
- “Soccer” became the widely used term in the US to differentiate it from American football.
While the name debate is often a fun talking point, the sport in the US faces more practical challenges, such as playing conditions, climate, and increasing general interest.
