Hi, Alan!  Recently you wrote in a message to Flavio Bessa:   
      
    FB>  That would be very interesting to understand - The   
    FB>  reason why this sport is called "Soccer" in North   
    FB>  America, and "Football" everywhere else. :)   
      
    AI>  We have another game here called football. It has a   
    AI>  different ball, much like but not the same as rugby   
    AI>  and different rules.   
      
      
             Uh-huh....  :-)   
      
      
      
    AI>  I guess that "football" came first here so we had to   
    AI>  call the other "football" game soccer.   
      
      
             While I don't pretend to know much about sports, I can see... as one   
   who gets a kick (pun alert!) out of consulting dictionaries... that "football"   
   is a generic term which apparently includes:   
      
                  Association Football ("soccer" for short)   
                  American (i.e. US) football   
                  Canadian football   
                  Rugby football, AKA "rugby" or "rugger"   
                  Australian Rules football (a variety of rugby)   
      
      
      
    AI>  I used to play soccer in my youth, and that is what it   
    AI>  has always been called here as far back as I can remember.   
      
      
             Among the majority of English-speaking North Americans... yes.  It's   
   much less popular in the US & Canada, however, than US &/or Canadian football.   
   Regardless of who used the term first or played their version Over Here first,   
   soccer enthusiasts may need to adapt their delivery to suit the audience.   
      
             Since the Vancouver Whitecaps have made it to the big league they're   
   now entitled to call themselves "Whitecaps FC" on their official logo.  But in   
   our youth, and probably in yours, things were very different.  The kids I grew   
   up with seemed to be mad keen about baseball... [wry grin].   
      
      
      
    AI>  It kind of surprised me to see a soccer match being   
    AI>  played on TV one day and the game was being called   
    AI>  "football".   
      
      
             I'm not sure when I first became aware that what we call "soccer" is   
   referred to as "football" elsewhere.  However, I would guess it was around the   
   time a British-style pub opened not far from where we live....  ;-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)