Association football

==Name==
{{Main|Names for association football}}
Association football is one of a family of [[Football|football codes]] that emerged from various [[ball games]] played worldwide since antiquity. Within the English-speaking world, the sport is now usually called "football" in Great Britain and most of [[Ulster]] in the north of Ireland, whereas people usually call it "soccer" in regions and countries where other codes of football are prevalent, such as Australia,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manfred |first1=Tony |date=14 June 2014 |title=The real reason Americans call it 'soccer' is all England's fault |url=https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-americans-call-it-soccer-2014-6 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427180816/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/why-americans-call-it-soccer-2014-6 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |access-date=27 April 2021 |website=Business Insider Australia}}</ref> Canada, South Africa, most of Ireland (excluding Ulster),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=John M. |title=Why Do Some People Call Football "Soccer"? |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131223612/https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer |archive-date=31 January 2022 |access-date=23 December 2021 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> and the United States. A notable exception is New Zealand, where in the first two decades of the 21st century, under the influence of international television, "football" has been gaining prevalence, despite the dominance of other codes of football, namely [[rugby union]] and [[rugby league]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Editorial: Soccer – or should we say football – must change |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/editorial-soccer-or-should-we-say-football-must-change/3KFDIVF4JRQPOAUG23DW2ARKBU/ |website=New Zealand Herald |access-date=27 April 2021 |date=11 June 2014 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427180813/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/editorial-soccer-or-should-we-say-football-must-change/3KFDIVF4JRQPOAUG23DW2ARKBU/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The term ''soccer'' comes from [[Oxford "-er"]] slang, which was prevalent at the [[University of Oxford]] in England from about 1875, and is thought to have been borrowed from the slang of [[Rugby School]]. Initially spelt ''assoccer'' (a shortening of "association"), it was later reduced to the modern spelling.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Perrigo |first1=Billy |title=Why Do Americans Call It Soccer Instead of Football? Blame England |url=https://time.com/5335799/soccer-word-origin-england/ |website=Time.com |date=11 July 2018 |publisher=Time Magazine |access-date=11 January 2024 |archive-date=11 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111114755/https://time.com/5335799/soccer-word-origin-england/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Donald |date=Jul 3, 2021 |title=There is no easier way to annoy a British soccer fan than referring to soccer as 'soccer' |language=en |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/there-is-no-easier-way-to-annoy-a-british-soccer-fan-than-referring-to-soccer-as-soccer-1.4608849 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130021358/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/there-is-no-easier-way-to-annoy-a-british-soccer-fan-than-referring-to-soccer-as-soccer-1.4608849 |archive-date=30 November 2022}}</ref> This form of slang also gave rise to ''rugger'' for rugby football, ''fiver'' and ''tenner'' for [[Five pound note|five pound]] and [[Bank of England £10 note|ten pound notes]], and the now-archaic ''footer'' that was also a name for association football.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What's The Origin of the Word "Soccer"? |url=https://www.lexico.com/explore/whats-the-origin-of-the-word-soccer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502083021/https://www.lexico.com/explore/whats-the-origin-of-the-word-soccer |archive-date=2 May 2021 |access-date=22 March 2021 |website=Lexico Dictionaries &#124; English}}</ref> The word ''soccer'' arrived at its current form in 1895 and was first recorded in 1889 in the earlier form of ''socca''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Origin and meaning of soccer |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/soccer#etymonline_v_23809 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035630/https://www.etymonline.com/word/soccer#etymonline_v_23809 |archive-date=30 October 2018 |access-date=29 October 2018 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref>