It is known by many terms: ‘The beautiful game’, the ’round ball code’, ‘the world game’. But most Australians know it as Soccer. We are in the minority with this ‘soccer’ tag, and bringing that word into any argument with a learned scholar or an international guest will pretty much lose it for you there and then.
The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) have tried to change the public perception by renaming themselves but have forgotten to change the name of their most popular and successful vehicle – ‘The Socceroos’.
I have no problem with keeping the nicknames of the lesser known Joeys, Matildas or Olyroos, as they have no connection with the term soccer. But before our beloved national team reach the shores of Brazil in 2014, we need to have a new nickname.
Nicknames around the world are not as popular as here and the States, with a major marketing component in the naming of our teams. Even people who take no interest in sport know who the Wallabies, Yankees, and Celtics are. And every four years or so, the whole country gets behind the Socceroos.
Straight after this World Cup is when FFA need to lose the ‘soccer’ tag.
There is a number of ways we could approach this, and I think that the A-League needs to push its footballing name. All media correspondence by these teams should make reference to Football, with no mention of soccer.
The FFA should take great lengths to call the other football codes by Aussie Rules, League and Union, so that any time Australians hear the word ‘football’, their first thought should be football.
Maybe one of the big companies behind the national team, such a QANTAS or Solo, should run a competition for a new nickname. We are a very smart nation and it is now time to lose the tag that was given to them during a Vietnamese tour 40 years ago.
With most of our best players now being too old for the next World Cup, and the bid for 2022 gaining momentum and creating a huge national buzz around the sporting public, the time is right to ditch the word Socceroo.
Derby County FC
Guest
ptovey01 I completely agree and support exactly the same four teams that you do. See you in The Cove on Saturday brother?
Derby County FC
Guest
Surely if football in Australia wants to be known as football the name Socceroos has to go. Personally i think all these nicknames are stupid, over the last few years some marketing bloke has come along and started calling England the Three Lions! They never had a nickname before, they were just plain old England. How about we call Australia Australia or is that a bit too out there for the nickname obsessed Australian public.
Aussie Rules
Guest
Jeff There was no polo, horse-ball or such played in the UK in the 14th century when football was played. Polo came form India when the English occupying India in the 19th century and, as for the popular equestrian (if there was at the time..? may be started in the 1920's) and the equestrian is only horse riding skills, did this make the poor people prancing around on piggy-backs because they could not affort horse...! Football came from an unruly game where anything went - Rule were made because people were getting broken legs, arms or ribs, thus rules were made and kicking the ball off the ground 'FOOTBALL' was one of the rules, football an Enlish word English game. Do you think the word football originated in Australia???? What is the matter with calling Aussie Rules 'Australian Rules' insteat of using the foreign word 'football' why are we ashamed to call it Australian Rules?????.
Beaver fever
Guest
In a typical Australian self send up, Barassi and Harry Beitzel called themselves the galahs, they have not been known as the Galahs since the 60's. Its called humour, pity you dont understand.
Jeff
Guest
What are you talking about, Le Cras is a footballer
Jeff
Guest
What you mean soccer?
Jeff
Guest
lol No Aussie Rules there was never a sport called "horse-ball" I just assumed people would put two and two togethor and think of a popular equestrian sport that the upper-class still play today.......polo maybe? You came up with "horse ball" all on your lonesome.
Aussie Rules
Guest
Jeff you are making us look sillier and sillier you are clutching at straw mate. Was there a sport called horse-ball (what next!) and the peasants played foot-ball becaue they didn't have horses. Are you really saying there was a sport called horse-ball, the horses kicking the ball while the upper class riding the horses? Why are we ashamed to call our game Australian Rules, Our game is mostly played running with the ball in hand and handballing. You comments are only silly desperate assumptions. Again whats wrong with Australian Rules mate?
Jeff
Guest
The term foot-ball comes from the medieval sport whereby you ran "on the foot" instead of using horses like the upper-class, no connection with how often you use your foot in the game
Jeff
Guest
If you didn't know Australia had a national Rugby League team, your either living under a rock or completely ignorant, question whether you actually are living in Australia or have Australian Citizenship
Odd
Guest
Just returned from the World Cup in South Africa. The game is known as soccer in Africa too. The Socceroos nickname is loved by the foreigners. Let's stick with it.
ptovey01
Roar Pro
I have friends who support all the different codes and really it's not a problem. You blokes need to get in the real world. If some on says I'm going to the footy, you know exactley who or what they are going to watch. Cause most of the people on here know exactley which team and which code is going on at any given time cause we are all tragics. It is a given that some will follow one code more heavily than another but for fark sake just call it all footy and get back to enjoying it. Go the dragons, waratah, Sydney FC and the swans.
Richard
Guest
Soccer is not a nickname for football. It is the name of the football code which features the round ball. The names of the five major football codes are soccer, Australian Football, rugby, rugby league and gridiron. There is of course Gaelic Football as well. All of these codes are Football. Roar should change the name of this tab to reflect the true name of the round ball world game beautiful game code - Soccer.
Jeff
Guest
Type of physique ay? What the type of person who goes to ground WHEN THEY ACTUALLY ARE HURT!
Jeff
Guest
What is rugby, league, AFL or soccer?
Jeff
Guest
Actually the name "football" is believed to be derived from the Medieval term for foot-ball - a game played by peasants on foot who CARRIED the ball instead of using horses like the upper-class. It was like a primitive version of Rugby Football.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Dublin Dave- I'm sure Football fans around the world really appreciate the time and effort you've taken to consider this issue and thanks for your advice. But, here's the simple answer for me as a Football Fan living in Australia ... I will always call it football and you, and other non-Football fans, can call it whatever you like - better still, why don't non-Football Believers just stop worrying about our Game. Don't bother telling us how we should change our Laws, change our Game format, change our tactics - basically, why don't you simply ignore our Game, just as Football Fans around the world continue to ignore all your Games? Surely that would be a win-win and everyone will be happy?
Dublin Dave
Guest
I have the answer. It's perfectly simple. Australian soccer fans should learn to speak another language. If they want to call their game "football" or a word that sounds like that with no fear of ambiguity, they should simply learn to speak French, German, Portugese, Dutch or Spanish and they're away on a hack. Hardsy and Fussball ist unser leben are only correct in their respective assertions that Australans are "in the minority with this soccer tag" and that "football has always been football, fussball, fotbal, futebol, fútbol, fudbal" if the sample they are talking about includes the non English speaking world. If you restrict your sample to the Anglosphere then soccer as the default meaning of the word football applies only to Great Britain. In other countries, it means something else. In America and Canada it means American football, or its Canadian variation. In Ireland it means Gaelic football. In Australia it means Aussie Rules I have never met an English speaking South African who ever referred to Association Football as anything other than soccer. Ditto for New Zealanders. Not that they ever talk about soccer much at all. So take your pick. I'm sure there are other languages where the unambiguous word for soccer sounds something like "football". Not Italian, of course. There they call it Calcio. And having a strange name for it hasn't done them any harm over the years has it?
BigAl
Guest
I'm sure for the recent Rugby League test for the opening of the new Rectangular Stadium they were known as - wait for it !! . . . . the VB Kangaroos !!!!!!!!
GeneralAshnak
Roar Pro
So Richard which code of football are you talking about when you say football? ARF? RL? RU? Gaelic? AF? CF?