Which is the correct term for the game: soccer or football?

“Football” as a generic term means “gridiron football” to Americans (and a few other nations), so if you're speaking with us Americans about “the beautiful game”, it is best to call it “soccer”. And when I travel to the UK, I always use “football” to mean “association football”. read more

Football is an abbreviation of the sport's full name, Association Football, while soccer is a derivative nickname of it. I would argue that on this basis, alongside cultural/linguistic norms in the majority of football-playing nations, Football is a 'more' correct term than soccer. read more

The reason the term “soccer” is used in countries like New Zealand, Australia and the United States results simply from the need to differentiate that form of football from other forms that either were, or are, more popular in those countries. read more

The name soccer is used anywhere where (a) another football code is popular and (b) that football code is commonly called football. So in NZ, Rugby football is popular, but it's always called rugby, not football, so Association football is still called football there. read more