Why do they call Football “Soccer” in the USA?

One of the differences between the British and American language is that the sport known as football in the United Kingdom is called SOCCER in the United States. The sport is British originated, so the next question is: Why is it that Americans along with the Canadians, Australians, and many other nations call it SOCCER?

Football has been around long before 1863, when Britain’s newly formed Football Association (F.A.) officialized the game in a set of rules. And even back then, it was the most widely played game of its kind in the UK along with Cricket and Rugby trailing close behind.

The term “Soccer” was not generated in the U.S. but at the University of Oxford in the 1881 where they called the sport “Assoccer” 20 years later the latter term was further shortened to “soccer”, and the name quickly spread beyond the university grounds. However, “soccer” never became much more than a nickname in the United Kingdom. But it did take fast outside of Europe.

Another interesting factor is that the commonly known position of the Goalkeeper back in the 1880’s was known to be called the “Goaltender” and that also changed in the early 1920’s.