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July 25, 2025

Could soccer ever become ‘football' in the US?

By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer

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Despite “soccer” being widely associated with the U.S., it is commonly accepted that the word was actually coined in Britain, perhaps as far back as the 1880s.

It is the world's most popular sport and yet there is still debate over what it should actually be called. Is it football or soccer? U.S. President Donald Trump waded into the topic while at the Club World Cup final in New Jersey last Sunday. He joked that he could pass an executive order to bring the United States in line with much of the rest of the world and ensure that from now on Americans refer to it as football. Despite “soccer” being widely associated with the U.S., it is commonly accepted that the word was actually coined in Britain, perhaps as far back as the 1880s.


 
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