Overview
- The label "soccer" began as a British school nickname in the 1880s when Oxford students shortened "association football" to "assoccer" and then to "soccer."
- The United States adopted the term because a different game called American football was already well established there, creating a need to distinguish the two sports.
- Several other countries use "soccer" for the same reason where other football codes are dominant, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Japan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Bermuda.
- FIFA and most national and continental governing bodies use the word "football" in official competitions, while domestic leagues and media in some countries keep using "soccer."
- The 2026 World Cup in North America has renewed public discussion and corrected the common misconception that the U.S. invented the word by underscoring its British origin and the practical, local reasons for different names.