The English have been playing football for centuries, but the term 'soccer' is a relatively new addition to the sport's lexicon. In England at the end of the 19th century, there was a passing trend of adding -er to some words. This is how the word 'soccer' came to be, derived from the use of the term association football. It was used interchangeably with football well into the 20th century, but it only began to be switched exclusively to soccer around 1980.
It is believed that the British only really stopped using “soccer” because of its American context, and they abandoned it because we kept it. In England, Szymanski writes, aristocratic boys came up with the abbreviated terms “rugger” and “soccer” to differentiate between rugby football and association football. Now that England is in the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990, fans are celebrating their country's success in the sport born in their country, but long dominated by foreigners. Rather, it was an import from England and was commonly used there until relatively recently. The history of soccer in England is a long one, stretching back centuries. It has been a part of British culture for generations and has been played by people of all ages and backgrounds.
The term 'soccer' has been used interchangeably with 'football' for many years, but it wasn't until recently that it began to be used exclusively. The British eventually realized that they didn't want to be associated with the Americans and started calling it “soccer exclusively”. For most of the rest of the world (including England, the birthplace of modern sport), it's soccer. The English have been playing football for centuries, but it wasn't until recently that they began calling it soccer. The term 'soccer' was derived from the use of the term association football, and it was used interchangeably with football well into the 20th century.
It only began to be switched exclusively to soccer around 1980, and it is believed that the British only really stopped using “soccer” because of its American context. And they abandoned it because we kept it. The history of soccer in England is a long one, stretching back centuries. For most of the rest of the world (including England, the birthplace of modern sport), it's soccer.
