A Rose By Any Other Name? Trump Says It’s Time to Call Soccer “Football”
In a move that’s sure to spark debate on both sides of the Atlantic – and probably right here at home – Donald Trump has weighed in on one of the great linguistic divides in sports: whether to call it soccer or football. And according to the former president, it’s high time Americans got with the program and started calling it football.
Trump made his latest pronouncement during a rally, where he mused about the global popularity of the sport. “We’re going to call it football now,” he declared to cheers from the crowd. His reasoning? “You know, the rest of the world calls it football.”
It’s a point that global football (or soccer, depending on where you stand) fans have been making for decades. In virtually every other nation where the sport is played – from Europe and South America to Africa and Asia – the game is universally known as “football.” The term “soccer” is largely an American and Canadian peculiarity, stemming from the historical term “association football.”
Trump, ever one to challenge norms, seems to be embracing the international standard on this one. Whether this is a genuine push to align American terminology with the rest of the world or simply another attention-grabbing remark, it certainly got people talking.
The debate over “soccer” vs. “football” is more than just semantics for many fans. For purists, “football” accurately describes a game primarily played with the feet, while “American football” (or just “football” in the U.S.) involves far more hand action. For others, “soccer” is simply what they grew up calling it, and there’s no need to change.
So, will Americans suddenly drop “soccer” from their vocabulary and embrace “football”? Only time will tell. But one thing’s for sure: Donald Trump has once again kicked off a conversation.
What do you think? Should Americans start calling it football? Let us know in the comments!
