ー英会話講師の英語日記ー　札幌英会話スクールSTEP UP（札幌駅、大通駅徒歩５分）

The Footie, football, or soccer??!

2018年7月4日 (水)

Hey everyone! It is the season of football and as everyone knows I just adore sports. I always try not to get too carried away because I know England will get eliminated but I always carry a small candle of hope that we will win at some point in my life time. This year Japan has shown such grace and determination, I feel very proud to live here. Belgium is an extremely strong team and the 16`s heat was insane.

It is this time of year that I can`t help but think of the differences between the words “soccer” and “football” and why do British people use the latter? Well, according to the English dictionary the first recorded use of the word “football” was 1486. It was later when the game became more popular that British people began to call it soccer. However, since the 1980s the word soccer hasn’t been widely used in the UK. I have debated this with Robert and we both don`t really know why these two words are used for the same sport. Perhaps because Americans branched their own version of rugby and football and called it football. Well, whatever the reason, I am going to keep calling it Football (as the ball can only hit the foot) and hope that some day I will understand this mystery.