World Cup fans tuning in for the tournament are only just realising why the sport is known as 'soccer' in the United States. The word tends to stir up fury among Brits, where the national sport has always been called 'football'. That convention is followed in virtually every other country, but things are different across the Atlantic.
Any talk of 'football' in the US usually refers to the sport derived from rugby union, where padded players score touchdowns rather than goals. Instead, 'soccer' is the word of choice to describe the beautiful game known as 'football' elsewhere.
English Origins of 'Soccer'
While many Brits oppose the use of 'soccer', most don't realise it was actually invented by the English. A historic dictionary, Passing English of the Victorian Era, explains how the word may have originated from the University of Oxford as a contraction of 'association football'.
The dictionary reads: "Soccer is an excellent example of Oxford minting. For the rule is as follows: take any word in common use; knock the end off and add 'er'. If it sounds acceptable, it suffers no further mutilation. If still harsh, see what it looks like by striking off its head and removing an intermediate syllable. All these processes appear to have been gone through to produce 'soccer' from association."
Historical Usage in Britain
In the past, 'football' and 'soccer' were largely interchangeable in the UK. In 1950, when England lost to the USA at the World Cup, the Daily Mail described it as "the biggest soccer upset of all time". Sir Alf Ramsey, who played in that match, used the same phrase in his autobiography. When he led England to World Cup glory in 1966, the word 'soccer' appeared on the front page of the Daily Mirror.
Newspapers continued using the term without anger until the 1990s. Soccer AM, a popular morning football show, aired until 2023 when Sky Sports cancelled it.
Current Usage
Now, 'soccer' is almost exclusively used in the US to differentiate the sport from American football, which is simply called 'football'. The sport is occasionally ridiculed as 'handegg' by those opposed to the term 'soccer', using the same logical naming conventions as 'football'.
