Names of the Game

The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863, and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer first appeared in the 1880s as a derivation of the abbreviation of association to assoc.

Today the sport is known by a number of names throughout the English-speaking world, the most common being football and soccer; this has generated debate regarding the "correct" name for the sport. The term used depends largely on the need to differentiate the sport from other codes of football followed in a community. Football is the term used by FIFA, the sport's world governing body, and the International Olympic Committee.