Overview

• Speaking after the Club World Cup final on July 13, President Trump quipped that he could issue an executive order requiring Americans to call soccer “football.”
• The remark has reignited discussion over U.S. terminology for the sport, but no formal policy change is under consideration.
• The United States follows back-to-back tournament hosting with the 2024 Copa America and the 2025 Club World Cup before co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• The word “soccer” was coined by Oxford University students in the 1880s as a slang abbreviation of “association football.”
• Countries with multiple football codes—such as Australia, Canada and Ireland—use “soccer” to avoid confusion, and U.S. media outlets, including the AP, retain that term.