Football's an awesome sport, right? But do you mean gridiron, the all-American game? Or are you talking soccer? Let’s clarify the conundrum:
It’s the start of another American football season. Tension and expectations are high; this could be the season that your team makes it all the way to the Superbowl!
But have you ever thought it slightly odd that, in a game where hardly anyone uses their feet, the sport itself is called ‘football’? You wouldn’t be the first.
Originally the term was used to describe what now, many Americans call #soccer. But since, we've had so many variations on that theme:
* Australian rules;
* Rugby football;
* Gaelic football;
* as well as our own American version played out in the #NFL.
If you're in any other part of the world besides the US or Canada, you probably don’t use the word soccer. You'd call ‘the beautiful game’ #football.
So, where did the terminology come from? How did so many different games get tethered under the same moniker?
More importantly, how is it used today across the globe to save your blushes when you start talking football, but the wrong variation!?
We've done some digging, highlighted some of #FIFA's greatest (and most controversial) moments and even pondered why it took 30 years to get the ball back from the 1966 World Cup final and house it in a display case in England's National Football Museum.
Read on to learn our fascinating facts about the differences between (and similarities of) football and soccer around the globe.
