Football vs. Soccer: What's the Difference? "Football" generally refers to a sport involving a spherical ball played by two teams, known as soccer in the U.S., while "soccer" specifically denotes this game in countries where "football" may refer to other sports like American football.

Football is a term used worldwide for a game involving a spherical ball, primarily played with feet. Soccer, on the other hand, is the term used in the United States and a few other countries to refer to the same sport.

Brits coined the term soccer in the late 1800s to refer to Association Football, the sport we now know as soccer/football. "Soccer" was picked as a way to differentiate from another kind of football—Rugby Football. For a similar reason, "soccer" became the favored term in America, a way to differentiate against Gridiron Football.

One of the best-known differences between British and American English is the fact that the sport known as football in Great Britain is usually called soccer in the United States. Because the sport originated in England, it is often assumed that soccer is an Americanism. In fact, the word is thoroughly British in origin.