U.S. President Donald Trump stood on stage with the FIFA Peace Prize medal around his neck on the 5th. [AP=연합뉴스]
The debate over the name of the game, which has lasted for over 160 years since modern soccer took root in the mid-to-late 18th century, has been rekindled.
The person who sparked the controversy is US President Donald Trump. After receiving the FIFA Peace Prize at the FIFA 2026 North and Central America World Cup final draw ceremony held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on the 5th, he said, “If you think about it, it seems right to call this sport (soccer) ‘football’ and for the National Football League (NFL) (which plays American football games) to find a different name.”
President Trump previously joked at the FIFA Club World Cup held in the United States last June, saying, “I am considering an executive order to require soccer in the United States to be called ‘football’ instead of ‘soccer.’” This time can also be seen in a similar context, but the soccer world once again reacted enthusiastically to a word that was thrown lightly as a joke. This is because this topic has been attracting attention for a long time.
Some English-speaking countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, call soccer ‘soccer.’ On the other hand, most countries around the world, including Korea, express it as ‘football’. This is related to the history of soccer. In 1863, the English Football Association (FA) announced the ‘Laws of the Game’ by unifying the football game regulations, which were different by region at the time, and the foundation of modern football was created. In addition, the expression ‘Association football’ has become a term used to refer to modern football.
Afterwards, in some parts of the UK, association football, which uses only the feet, became ‘soccer’, and Rugby Football, which uses the hands, became ‘rugger.’ It was created by removing ‘ssoc’ from the word association and ‘rug’ from the word rugby and adding er to each. What’s interesting is that while the name soccer was forgotten in the UK, it has become widely used in other countries, including the US. In the United States, ‘football’ has become a term meaning American football.
Confusion continues as the word ‘football’ is used differently in the United States. Last August, shortly after advancing to Major League Soccer (MLS), Son Heung-min (LAFC) also stated at a press conference, “It is difficult to decide whether to describe soccer as ‘soccer’ or ‘football.’”
It is difficult to expect a situation where the NFL will obediently give up the name it has used for over 100 years since 1922 due to a single word from President Trump. However, as the United States is set to host the FIFA World Cup finals in June next year, related controversies are expected to continue for some time.
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