Why We Call Football Soccer
The World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world. They play football (futbol), not soccer. The World Cup will happen soon. This repost deals with why Americans say soccer, instead of football.
In the 19th century, the english wrote the rules for something called association football. This was different from rugby football. Somehow, soccer, a nickname for association, became the name of this new sport. When the pastime spread from the upper crust schools to the working class, it became known as football. It made sense, being a sport where you kick the ball with your feet.
In the USA, there was another sport called football. It involves beer and steroids. The ball only gets kicked when it is time for a commercial. For some reason, when association football became popular here, the name soccer stuck.
PG thinks soccer is a terrible word, for a pretty good sport. All those guttural noises sound bad in the mouth, like something caught in your throat. Maybe, if the sport had another name north of the Rio Grande, it would be more popular. As it is, soccer is popular as a kids game, but strikes out as a spectator sport, in the lower 48.
Chamblee54 
America, it’s time to call football, football. Ball moved & controlled, mainly by the foot. It was originally called football in America, so it’s basicly reinstating the correct word.
There’s no need for confusion with the other sport, gridiron can finally be called what it is, gridiron.
The official bodies won’t rebrand antil the times right for them, which will be when the greatest amount of money can be made from doing it.
But long before any official rebranding, Americans can call football, football, & gridiron, gridiron, both respectable names that describe each sport.