Is it Soccer or Football?

Is it called soccer or is it called football. Well I guess that depends on where you are from.

I have been getting slack from a few TheFootie readers who dislike the fact that I continue to use the word soccer. While the rest of the world say football, us fans of the game are forced to say soccer because the word football is already taken.

Toronto FC vs Real Salt Lake

We can’t change that fact overnight. If I were to say football all the time people would be confused as to which sport I am referring too. Not to mention the confusions of other readers of EveryJoe.com, TheFootie’s parent blog.

What I am trying to say is that yes I realize the sport is called football but unless everyone else in your community use the term it cannot be used to identify the sport. Let’s also not forget that soccer and football/rugby were essentially the same sport when in the 1800’s two groups couldn’t agree on a specific set of rules. Some believed that only the feet should be used while others believed that a combination of hands and feet are allowed. Rugby of course then evolved into American Football.

If you want to get technical then we should call soccer cuju as it was originally called in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. or call it ‘kick the can’ as it was played in England.

It isn’t important what we call the sport so long as it is played internationally by the same set of rules. It should be a way of uniting the world instead of diving it between the Footballers and the heathen Soccer North Americans.

Image: Newscom