this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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The meme doesn't really work. The working-class people who played football the most always called it football. Upper-class people at public schools (don't confuse this with state schools - in the UK, public schools are even posher and more expensive than private schools, and the name comes from letting anyone who could afford the fees in, not from any intention to educate the general public) needed to distinguish it from Rugby Football so they could make a rule against playing it, and invented the name Association Football. There's a tradition at public schools to shorten names in a particular way (Rugby football to rugger, buggery to bugger etc.) and when applying that to association football, it becomes soccer. Soccer has always been a term used to mock poor people who play football instead of rugby, so of course it's badly-received when people say it.
Soccer was a widespread term for it among all classes up until the mid-late 1970s, with books, magazines, newspaper columns, and so on using the term interchangeably with football. There appears to have been a switch to actively hating on the term, and it coincides with the rise of the hooligan in the 60s and 70s, and general xenophobia as demonstrated by the rise of the far right. It is at this point that “soccer” becomes a filthy American term among a certain type of “fan”.
As the close relative of a football journalist, I spent my early life surrounded by historical books, journals, fanzines and programmes from around 1900 to the 2000s. Strikingly, pre-1970s, soccer and football were wholly interchangeable in every social grouping, every purpose, every outlet. Dockers down the pub would talk about footy, football, or soccer as if it meant the same thing. It is only with the xenophobia of the 70s that it became an “American” word and a naughty thing to say in certain company.
Would be lovely if you have some source or something to read about.
Consider my interest piqued. I gave the Wikipedia page a skim and it seems like a good starting point
Found a PDF of a 2014 study by Stefan Szymanski at the University of Michigan. Compares Soccer/Football use in The Times, NY Times, British football bibliography, Guardian, Independent and Time Magazine.
That's why UK clubs called Liverpool F.C, Manchester United F.C. ,Chelsea F.C, Fulham F.C. and so on? F.C. Inter in Italy, Real Madrid F.C., FC Barcelona in Spain and so on?
I don’t really get your point. You’re expecting a nickname to make it to the club’s formal name?
A nickname? You just said it was a widespread term for football. The other person is asking you why, if it was so widespread, almost every single professional club throughout Europe went with football instead.
Yes, a widespread nickname…
Soccer is short for Association Football. If you really want to fixate on club names for some reason, you can take in Wrexham AFC, AFC Bournemouth, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow AFC, but I don’t see the relevance myself.
AFC stands for Association Football Club lol
TIL
Thank you for including that, too
That's a very diplomatic way of saying: just the rich
Soccer is short for "Association Football" so either term is valid.
The Public Schools in the west of Britain were Army schools, they played Rugby, and used western prouniciation ie "castle = carsell" and "lieutenant=leftenant"
The Public Schools in the east of Britain were Navy schools, they played Association Football" and used eastern pronunciation "castle=kassel", and "lieutenant=lootenant".
Lieutenant is still pronounced differently in the Royal navy and army.
Reason why, most clubs founded in the 19th century onward, used football club in their names. Including Italian Spanish etc clubs founded by British immigrant