The origins of the name soccer, which confounds many a non-American, actually has its roots in England.
Long a popular sport in England in the mid-19th century, this is where the first set of soccer rules were born out of various associations. The meeting later became known as the Football Association. As the game developed, some people wanted to carry the ball and others only wanted to kick it, which caused the distinction between rugby football (which American football derived from) and association football.
It wasn’t long before soccer enthusiasts tired of using the phrase “association football,” started to say “soc'er” The nickname ultimately gave rise to the use of the word soccer in the United States. In England, they eventually dropped the nickname and the word association, and just called it football.
