Is it ‘futbol’ or ‘soccer’?
Roar Rookie
By Reece Hart, 4 Feb 2009 Reece Hart is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Australia, commentators, football, Socceroos
Lately there has been a huge shift away from anything ‘soccer’ toward the more appropriate term, ‘futbol’. While this is great for the game. we have to wonder why this is happening.
Ever since the Socceroos qualified for the World Cup, the push has come to shove with how we refer to The World Game. Commentators are calling the game differently, with everything ‘Futbol’ and anything ‘NSL’: it’s almost like a feral disease that needs to be swept under the rug to hide our embarrassment.
The question remains, though, if this push toward being a ‘futbol’ nation and not a ‘soccer’ nation continues, will that mean changing the name of the Socceroos to something like the ‘Roos, Footyroos, or something similar?
I feel the term ‘futbol’ needs to be continued. But the fanatical way it’s going, it may prove costly for national and international views of the Australian teams.
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- Explore:
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Nam Turk said | February 4th 2009 @ 3:08am | Report comment
Use of “football” is #1 on the agenda of Europoseurs. Try to resist and just enjoy the game.
Rabbitz said | February 4th 2009 @ 6:16am | Report comment
Reece,
Maybe you can explain this peculiar phenomenon?
Why do the soccer fans who correspond on The Roar feel the need to push this particular barrow?
From a marketing perspective, deliberately diluting your brand seems to be a really strange decision by the powers that be.
It is also insulting to the general sporting public, as it seems that the organisers of soccer in this country don’t think that the average punter can reconcile the sport being called different things in different places…
Rabz
Slippery Jim said | February 4th 2009 @ 6:37am | Report comment
ZZzzzzzz
Luke W said | February 4th 2009 @ 7:16am | Report comment
Let’s not start this again. We call it “football” (not futbol, we speak English on this site) because that is the name by which it is known by the majority of this world.
Dan said | February 4th 2009 @ 8:06am | Report comment
Do we really need to discuss this again? We just had a mammoth discussion on it. The game is either football or soccer depending on the context as far as I’m concerned. Australia is a multi-code football country in a sea of single code ones. Many people from Europe and other parts of the world find this incomprehensible as they have not experienced it and seemingly associate the use of the term “soccer” with the American rejection and derision of their sport in favour of American football. However the fact remains that “soccer” is a british term and is often used in places where soccer is not the premier football code. Indeed, the majority of Australians grew up knowing the sport as soccer and understanding “footy” to be either rugby league or AFL. Soccer is a british term and essentially grew out of a need to distinguish rugby football and association football from each other in an abbreviated form (while rugby football was temporarily known as “rugger”), thus taking on in countries with other codes of football. Furthermore, the often appearing argument, that being the only code truly played with the feet, the name “soccer” should be abandoned in favour of the more rightful “football” represents a misunderstanding the word’s etymology, given that “football” originally referred simply to sports “played on foot” as opposed to the expensive games of nobles such as polo.
There you have it. If you’re a soccer fan, then by all means call it football, but I’ve known it to be soccer all my life and will not change to service someone else’s insecurities.
Millster said | February 4th 2009 @ 9:51am | Report comment
I’m with everyone that says this is a boring subject.
A few AFL zealots will vehemently argue that ‘football’ is a generic term and must not move towards being known to mean the round ball game.
A few football zealots will say that the beautiful game must never be known as anything else – especially not the old word ‘soccer’ that they associate with all the prejudices against and mismanagement of the code.
Most of us don’t care because we are happy to see the word ‘football’ be used more and more instead of ‘soccer’, but don’t agree with the supposed cringe associated with the latter word, and realise that the transition will occur in good time and at its own pace regardless of the petty arguments we may have here. Plus we have the social flexibility to use what is appropriate according to the circumstances, or quickly telling someone what nomenclature is being used, in the meantime. And most importantly we believe that it doesn’t matter what the beautiful game is called as long as people are talking about it, watching it and playing it more and more.
onside said | February 4th 2009 @ 10:08am | Report comment
Dont get too precious over a name. Actresses are now actors.Words change,depending
on where you live.
An example;I watch the EPL,English Premier League. Many SOCBOL fans watch the EPL
But if you ask about the EPL in the UK ,they will have no idea what you are talking about
as it is not known as the EPL over there. EPL is an Australian fabrication.
Does EPL work in Australia ? Yes
Do people know what you are talking about? Yes
Good.Lets move on.
AmoAmas said | February 4th 2009 @ 10:25am | Report comment
The reason this issue is being persued is because Frank purchased a football channel from Foxtel. He likes to watch the good stuff. And all the imported cans of socer are labelled “football.”Simple as that guys…
Aka said | February 4th 2009 @ 11:27am | Report comment
The term Socceroos is just a nickname. If you get in a bind with the fact that the socceroos play football, you’ll do your head in working out what the bulldogs play.
Mattay said | February 4th 2009 @ 11:29am | Report comment
I’m with the who cares brigade.
A more pressing issue was lightly touched on however. The name “socceroos” needs to go. It reaks of an 80′s era term and is quite frankly embarrassing.
I know we have the Hockeyroos, Boomers, Opals, Matildas, Wallabies, Kangaroos and countless other nicknames for our national sporting teams, but I would love the FFA to take a stand and just announce that our national football/soccer team is to be known as “Australia”.
Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?