“I love watching American football (UK speaker).”
Usage Entry 1438 / 1605 60-second read
Soccer vs. Football
American name versus rest-of-world name — same sport (also called association football).
The comparisoni
“I love watching American football (UK speaker) — but if a UK speaker says just "football" they mean what Americans call SOCCER. American "football" is gridiron.”
The ruleii
¶
US: football = gridiron.
FOOTBALL outside North America = association football (the round-ball game). In the US/Canada, FOOTBALL = the gridiron game; the round-ball game is SOCCER. SOCCER itself is a UK abbreviation of "Association" — an unloved import home.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Outside US: football = soccer.