Origin of the Word Soccer

I always thought that the origin of the word soccer came from America, however I was wrong about that and now Im glad I learned the real soccer word origin.

I am European and have never heard the word soccer until I moved to America back in 1999. After doing a little research on soccer word and where it came from I was surprised to see that the word soccer actually originates from none other but the English.

The funny thing is that most English people don't really like the word soccer and will laugh at anyone that calls their game of football, soccer.


The origin of the word soccer starts in England shortly after the "Laws of the Game" were written and Football Association was formed in London, 1863.

Over the next few years, English people would start calling the first "Football Association", "Assoccer" for short and pretty quickly "Assoccer" turned into just "Soccer".

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Legend has it that Charles Wredford Brown, an Oxford student during the time of first "Football Association" was the first person to use the soccer word.

When some friends asked him if he’d come play a game of “Rugger”(nickname for Rugby), to which Charles Wredford Brown replied he proffered to play “Soccer” over "Rugger".

The soccer word for this sport would catch on from there and the word soccer and Charles Wredford Brown would have a small part in the history of soccer.

Soccer gained popularity in America later than the rest of the World which caused the word football to be taken by a different sport, that is American Football.

Origin of the word soccer starts during the time period of 1945 - 1975 when the current "American Soccer Federation" tried having Football in their Governing Body name as a solution but the name "United States Soccer Football Association" was too long and confusing to many people so it was shortened to "US Soccer Federation" during 1975.

The word soccer would define this sport in the United States area ever since.

It is also important to mention that United States is not the only Country that uses the word Soccer instead of Football for this sport.

Soccer word origin also comes from many other countries around the world such as Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa who use the word soccer to talk about the sport that is called football everywhere else.

This again is due to late introduction of Soccer game when the word "Football" was already taken by a different sport.

So in conclusion, the word soccer comes from England but has been used in America and other countries to refer to the original Football that is played and referred to as football around the world.

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Origin of the Word Soccer
I always thought that the word soccer came from the Americans.
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