The word soccer comes from a slang abbreviation of the word association, which British players of the day adapted as “assoc,” “assoccer” and eventually soccer or soccer football.

Brits coined the term soccer in the late 1800s to refer to Association Football, the sport we now know as soccer/football.

The word “soccer” originated in England, and was originally used to differentiate association football from its rugby cousin. Just as rugby football was shortened to “rugger”, the game of association football became known as “soccer” thanks to a shortening of the word “association”.

The nickname “soccer” comes from the term “association football,” which was abbreviated to “assoc.” and then morphed into “soccer” in England. This term was used to distinguish the sport from “rugby football.”