What Percentage Of The English-Speaking World Calls It 'Soccer' Instead Of 'Football?'

I got no problem with the fact that the U.S. and some other countries have adopted what was a slang term (I believe) for Association Football. Soccer is a neat word!

But according to wikipedia it is, or at least partly is. What’s the percentage when you take it out?

… but it’s a “larger tiny minority” than we think. :-) Basically, it looks like it’s usually in countries that have other types of football that they call “football.”

Based on that map you linked to, Ireland (Gaelic Football), Australia (Aussie Rules, Rugby), New Zealand and S. Africa (Rugby), Canada (Canadian Football), and the U.S. (American Football) are all examples of this. I imagine the Filipino usage of “soccer” dates back to the long U.S. occupation there. And the pacific islander usage is probably more related to the influence of Australia and New Zealand with Rugby.

The obvious, as John Cleese states, is that the game Americans call football involves at least as much hand as it does foot, and its principal object isn’t exactly shaped like a ball. (As Americans, we’d eventually retort by pointing out cricket doesn’t involve insects. But first we’d run a monster truck lorry into a wall of fried chicken, because so what?)

The word football came about to distinguish it from horse-based sport: polo and other horseback riding sports. So it makes sense to call the American sport football.

It was an abbreviation/slang of the association part of Football Association. It died out in England, but was kept in the US to distinguish it from American football which was already a well established sport(which basically grew from Rugby). Also, the early American Football point structure was more heavily weighted to kicking….in other words the extra point used to be worth more than the touchdown. That’s part of where the “foot” came from in (American) football. The ball used in American football also slowly got stretched out to its’ current shape over time. It started off round, but slowly morphed to its’ present shape to accommodate the passing game.

Anyone using the football/soccer argument is just uneducated and terrified of the day when the US dominates. jk…..but one of my English friends did tell me one time that he wished we would quit playing footie because it’s the only thing they can beat us at.

can we anticipate the Soccerroos changing their name to the Footballabies?

Granted…not an English speaking country. Engrish, maybe.