‘Soccer’ is a fine term for the beautiful game – don’t let any ‘football’ snob or president tell you otherwise this World Cup

‘Soccer’ originated as a slang term in the 1880s and continues to be used around the world today. So why are some people squeamish about the term?

By: Kirk Bowman, Georgia Institute of Technology, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 4, 2026

Words: 725

Last Updated: 13 hours, 31 minutes ago

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By Kirk Bowman, Georgia Institute of Technology

At the 2026 World Cup draw, FIFA Peace Prize recipient and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the game should really be called “football.”

“There’s no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL. It really doesn’t make any sense,” said Trump, an apparently new convert to the round-ball game.

He isn’t alone. The word “soccer” is, in some …

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