Before the advent of organised leagues etc., football described a game played ON foot where the object was to get a “ball” of some description past/into/through a “goal”. Rules were different wherever these games of football were played, but they were all enjoyed by a lusty mob wrestling over a ball rather than kicking it.

Later, the English public schools introduced football, some, with limited playing areas, allowing the ball to be kicked along the ground. In the 19th Century, as ex-schoolboys wanted to continue playing at university, the lack of common rules was a problem, so various bodies tried to formalise the rules. A faction at Cambridge came up with rules for a type of football that involved kicking the ball, others influenced by Rugby School preferred their handling version of football. Both were simply called “football” by their followers, which is why we still have rugby clubs called “Leicester Football Club”, “Harlequin Football Club” etc., the 1908 Olympics has “Football (Association)” and “Football (Rugby)”, and the forerunners of the British Lions toured the Antipodes under the name “British Isles Football Team”.

As such, it was “Football” with an oval ball that was introduced to Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada – East Coast Australians changed their allegiance to rugby league 100 years ago, New Zealanders stuck with rugby union, and the rest invented their own versions of the game, which is why “football” means something different to all of them, and not the same thing as it does to Europeans.

Ah.. the English called it Soccer until 1950 when the US beat them in the World Cup 1-0

They were so embarrassed they changed the name hoping nobody would notice.

Have it