Now that the World Cup in Brazil is ongoing, soccer is a sport that is currently well talked about. However, many are confused whether to call it 'soccer' in the first place. The word 'soccer' is what Americans usually call it while the British would refer to the ball game as 'football' instead. 'Football' for the Americans would be referring to another type of sport entirely, one that involves body slamming and an oval-shaped ball.
Despite this fact, the word 'soccer' actually originated from the British. The British used it too often to the point when it became too 'American' for them. It all started during the Middle Ages, where early version of the 'ball and feet' game started to appear in England. When the game became popular, especially for the people of the higher classes from the Eton and Rugby schools in the 19th century, young men started to develop a standard rules and regulations. On that note, they formed the Football Association.
During the standardization of the game, another version of the game was formed. It was developed mostly by the Football Association from the Rugby School and it involved the use of hands. This game evolved to what we now refer to as 'Rugby' or 'American Football.' In order to differentiate the games from each other, the Rugby game that involved the use of hands was called 'rugger' while the Association football game was coined 'soccer.'
The word 'soccer' first appeared, and widely used, in both American and British newspapers back in the 1900s. The term was also generally accepted in Britain during the early half of the 20th century. Later in the 1980s, the British stopped using the term because it was this time when the sport became popular in the US under the name 'soccer.' Since the Americans predominantly refer to the game as 'soccer,' the British decided to stick with calling it 'football' probably in order to avoid confusion.
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