Why it's called football, not soccer

CRAIG FOSTER
August 8, 2010
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Let's get one thing straight, the game is called football in every country where it is respected and valued around the world. The official change in moniker in Australia was one of the most important moments in the history of the sport here, because names and terms denote respect and have the power to overcome prejudice.

I recently wrote in my book, Fozz on Football, about the "Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis", which in simple terms argues that language can define the way a person behaves and thinks.

For example, this is why the use of the word ''curriculum'' in relation to Australia's new methodological direction is important, because it captures the essence of what we are now focusing on, a deep and sophisticated football ''education'' for every child, not merely ''training''.

And why the game is football.

Language does shape reality and today there is a new reality for the game in this country. Just as the growth of football has closely mirrored the rise of immigration - the influx came from all corners of the earth and most people brought the love of football in their heart - more importantly, the acceptance of the game exactly follows the acceptance of multiculturalism.

Australia is eagerly embracing football precisely because we are hungrily embracing the rest of the world, are more outward-looking than ever before, are maturing in our acceptance of what modern Australia looks like and of what an Australian actually is. Our citizens are incredibly diverse, with an array of cultural backgrounds, ideas and views, but all united by our love of the country's core values.

These values are equality, tolerance, mateship and looking out for one another, community, family, the enjoyment of life every day and an easygoing nature that infuses every newcomer after just a few weeks in this marvellous, sunburnt land.

These are all core values of football, the game that perfectly fits with what Australia is, and wants to be, this century.

They are not, however, the values of soccer, not in this country, a term with all the connotations of the "Sheilas, Wogs and Poofters" mentality to which Johnny Warren was so rabidly sensitive and proudly opposed. So for anyone to argue that a term is merely a term, nothing more, misses the point entirely.

Football is valued, respected, a part of a global game, a connecting force with our regional trading partners; the game of the future, a game for all, the most democratic of games suitable for every child, boy or girl; the game that offers a life of incredible experiences and unfathomable riches, and the very sporting future of this great sporting nation.

Soccer was a term inherited from elsewhere, used to denote the mistakes of the game's past. Critically, Australia was mature enough to leave this term behind. That it is still used in New Zealand, the United States, Canada and not many other places is telling, because none of them understand or respect the game and are out of tune with the rest of the world.

We are not. No longer.

We are a football nation, we value the game, we want above all to win at the highest level and are now investing millions of dollars to learn how to do so, and all because football has grown up, along with Australian society.

There exists a significant but rapidly diminishing anti-football bias in the Australian media. I know, I've been in it for almost a decade now, and countless radio, magazine and television interviews have shown me unequivocally this is the case.

Soccer had immense cultural and administrative issues, undoubtedly, but never question that major media organisations, particularly those with huge commercial interests in other codes, strategically capitalised on these issues.

The difference is that, today, these interests and the mind-numbingly stupid people who carry out their outdated agendas stand out from the crowd, because our nation has moved on, and up, and prejudice reeks.

But perhaps the final hurdle to overcome is this, that the most ardent football fans who live the game daily, myself included, are at times described as ''radical'', ''diehards'' or even better, ''extremists'', in some sort of misguided attempt to paint passion as dangerous or disturbing.

Nothing could be further from reality.

Life is passion, without it we are dead, and nowhere is passion better expressed than through football, the game of extraordinary emotional breadth.

Today all Australians can express their love for football, watch only football and support football, and not feel a need to be seen as a league, AFL or union supporter merely to conform to an outdated concept of Australian-ness.

To the contrary. They are, in fact, the most modern and enlightened Australians.


http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/why-its-called-football-not-soccer-20100807-11pfi.html

got bored at 'Let's get one thing straight'

got bored at 'Let's get one thing straight'

and countless radio, magazine and television interviews have shown me unequivocally this is the case.

My observation is that the term "Football" is applied to whatever the dominant code is in a particular country or region. In NSW and Queensland, "Football" maens rugby league; in the other states, "Football" means AFL; in North America, "Football" means gridiron; and in New Zealand, "Football" means rugby union. I live in Hoabart and if I went round telling everyone what a great game of football I just saw, they would think I was talking about Essendon v Geelong!!

Maybe one day, soccer will become the dominant code in this country, and we will be in the majority. When that happens, my bet is that it will come to be called "Football" here too. But until then, it's not going to happen. AFL and rugby league will continue to promote their codes as "football" in their respective markets no matter what Craig Foster or the FFA say. How about we give up on this pointless debate and concentrate on the real priority: growing our beautiful game and unlocking the massive potential that we have. Once the other codes become irrelevant stagnating backwaters, we'll be able to call our game whatever we bloody well like!!!

Foster should get a job in the womyn's department at a uni...

I see his point, but language is infinitely more complicated than the way he puts it forward. It's important for the code to officially refer to itself as 'football' but fear of the word 'soccer' isn't necessarily helpful as it can enhance the perception that 'old soccer' is just around the corner about to come back at any second. This makes the code seem scared rather than mature and moving forward.

Or you could interpret it in about a million different ways.

Fuck I hate post-structuralism.

Loki whats complicated about this issue? Its simply negative labeling of the people who watch and play the game. "Soccer" is the game the "effniks play, not true-blue dinky die you-beaut Aussies". "Football" is what real Aussies and real men play.

if you use it sparingly just to let other people know what you mean when you're saying 'football' you can undercut that currency and normalise it to the point where it's basically like saying 'league' or 'union' or 'afl' to describe your form of football then that's desirable imo.

You can also form some kind of illusion of elitism by refusing to use any term other than football for the game, which also has its drawbacks.

Anyways, i digress, i really fucking hate language politics.

I am all for calling the game Football but Soccer was the round ball game game played in this country

before the "effnicks", as some one put, it came. It didn't have negative connotations, it acquired them for whatever reasons during the mid 20th century.

Changing the official name by which the game is to be referred to in this country is not the reason why the game is having a resurgence. That is happening because there has been a change in management structure and a recasting of the national expression of the game. We could still call it Soccer and it would make no difference to that resurgence. Foz should stop making mountains out of molehills and devote his time to a renewal of how football is portrayed by SBS. Maybe it is time to bury the dinosaurs of which he is one and bring SBS into the 21st century.

It's traditionally a negative term but how you deal with that now that the break has been made is a complicated issue. If you attempt to get rid of the term you just reinforce those negative connotations, if you use it sparingly just to let other people know what you mean when you're saying 'football' you can undercut that currency and normalise it to the point where it's basically like saying 'league' or 'union' or 'afl' to describe your form of football then that's desirable imo.

You can also form some kind of illusion of elitism by refusing to use any term other than football for the game, which also has its drawbacks.

Anyways, i digress, i really fucking hate language politics.

Today all Australians can express their love for football, watch only football and support football, and not feel a need to be seen as a league, AFL or union supporter merely to conform to an outdated concept of Australian-ness.

To the contrary. They are, in fact, the most modern and enlightened Australians.

By the predominantly white-Anglo populous?



To say something like "for whatever reason" suggests an inability or lack of desire to understand the real reasons. And if you can't or won't learn what the real reasons why it acquired the "negative connotations" then how can you say "it doesn't matter?"
Have you considered that the "negative connotations" came about because of all the all the post-World War 2 immigration of Europeans-who called it football-, and along with "wogs", "greasers" and a host of other names, "soccer" was used by the locals wanted another word to label the "new Australians", and not in a complimentary way either?



Don't under-estimate the power of perception. Any terms used by OTHERS which gave the game a negative perception should not be accepted by US

Everyone is jumping on board,hardly anyone left