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What do you call this sport? It's not just football or soccer

Association football is the most popular sport in the world, but there is no consensus around the world for what it is called. The chief governing body is FIFA - Fédération Internationale de Football Association, though you don't hear people calling it Association football, usually it's soccer or football, and in non-English speaking countries, it is often some form of the word football, written phonetically (e.g. "futbol") or a translation of the word football.

In the UK, the term Association football came about to distinguish the game from the other versions of football played at the time (e.g. rugby football), and from the 'association' part of the name came the word soccer (assoc.).



Although the name soccer came out of the UK, there it is predominantly called football, while elsewhere in a few English speaking countries colonized by the British it is called soccer. You will find that soccer is still the main term for the game in countries in which there is another major sport called football (e.g. USA, Canada, Australia). Check out our poll on what do you call it?

As you can see in the list below, the sport is not just called either football or soccer. In some countries, the name of the sport may not be clearly one or another, and for some countries and languages it is evolving, typically countries that have traditionally called it soccer are starting to more regularly call it football.

I have tried to find the most commonly used name in each country, and included others if known. In countries in which there is more than one language spoken, there can be more than one name for the game. The lists are not complete. If you have any additions, comments or corrections, please let me know or add to the comments at the base of the page.

Name by Nation

Country What It Is Called Notes
Afghanistan فوټبال translation of 'football' in Pashto, one of the two major languages in Afghanistan
Albania futboll
Algeria كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
American Samoa soccer
Andorra futbol that's how you say football in Catalan, the sole official language of Andorra.
Angola futebol football in Portuguese
Anguilla football
Antigua and Barbuda football
Argentina fútbol the Spanish term for football
Armenia ֆուտբոլ) translation of 'football' in Armenian
Aruba voetbal
Australia Soccer and Football The national body is the Football Federation of Australia, but most of the population call it soccer, as there are other popular football codes, Australian Rules and Rugby. Referring to soccer as football is becoming more common.
Austria Fußball
Azerbaijan futbol
The Bahamas football
Bahrain كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Bangladesh football the sport in Bangladesh is run by the Bangladesh Football Federation
Barbados football
Belarus футбол (futbol) translation of 'football' in Belarusian
Belgium football
Belize football
Benin football
Bermuda football
Bhutan
Bolivia fútbol the Spanish term for football
Bosnia-Herzegovina nogomet the word is derived from "noga", meaning "leg"
Botswana
Brazil futebol
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria футбол Bulgarian for 'football'
Burkina Faso football
Burundi football
Cambodia បាល់ទាត់ (balteat)
Cameroon football
Canada Soccer and Football For most Canadians "football" is associated with Canadian or American football, but referring to soccer as football is becoming more common.
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic football
Chad football
Chile fútbol the Spanish term for football
China 足球 the characters mean 足 = foot and 球 = ball
Chinese Taipei
Colombia fútbol the Spanish term for football
Comoros football
Congo football
Congo DR football
Cook Islands
Costa Rica fútbol the Spanish term for football
Cote d’Ivoire football
Croatia nogomet the word is derived from "noga", meaning "leg"
Cuba fútbol the Spanish term for football
Curaçao voetbal the Dutch word for football
Cyprus "mappa" (μάππα) means "ball" in greek-cypriot
Czechia fotbal kopaná for "kick game" is also used
Demark fodbold
Djibouti football
Dominica football
Dominican Republic fútbol the Spanish term for football
Ecuador fútbol the Spanish term for football
Egypt كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
El Salvador fútbol the Spanish term for football
England football
Equatorial Guinea fútbol the Spanish term for football
Eritrea
Estonia jalgpall
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland jalkapallo
France football
Gabon football
Gambia
Georgia ფეხბურთი (pekhburti) from ფეხი (pekhi = foot) and ბურთი (burti = ball)
Germany Fußball
Ghana
Greece ποδόσφαιρο (podosphero) from πόδι (podi) = "foot" and σφαίρα (sphera) = "sphere / ball"
Grenada football
Guam
Guatemala fútbol the Spanish term for football
Guinea football
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti foutbòl 'football' in Haitian Creole
Honduras fútbol (footbal)
Hong Kong football
Hungary futball the official term is labdarúgás, literally "ball-kicking", but foci is used in the common language.
Iceland fótbolti or knattspyrna knattspyrna come from knatt = ball and spyrna = kicking
India फ़ुटबॉल (futabol) as spoken in Hindi language
Indonesia Sepak bola meaning kick-ball
Iran
Iraq
Ireland football or soccer both football and soccer terms are used. In Ireland, football can refer to association football or Gaelic football. Soccer is becoming less common, but remains strong in areas where there is another "football".
Israel כדורגל (kaduregel) joining the words "כדור" (kadur: ball) and "רגל" (regel: foot, leg)
Italy calcio calcio is from the word calciare, meaning to kick.
Jamaica football
Japan sakkā (サッカー) or futtobōru (フットボール) The term sakkā has become more common since the 2nd world war because of the American influence, despite Japan's federation being called the JFA. The native Japanese word for football, shuukyuu (่นด็ ), which is literally foot(่นด) ball(็ ). The word is regarded as quaint now but was commonly used before the Second World War.
Jordan كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Kazakhstan футбол (fwtbol)
Kenya
North Korea (Korea DPR)
South Korea (Korea Republic) chuggu (蹴球 축구) meaning "kick-ball"
Kuwait كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Kyrgyzstan Жаныбарлар (janıbarlar)
Laos ບານເຕະ (ban-te) literally meaning "ball-kicking"
Latvia futbols in Latvian it is also called kājbumba
Lebanon كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Lesotho soccer
Liberia football and soccer
Libya كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Liechtenstein Fußball
Lithuania futbolą
Luxembourg futbolas
Macau
Madagascar baolina kitra
Malawi
Malaysia phutball ഫുട്ബോൾ also, "Bolasepak" meaning ball-kick is used.
Maldives
Mali football
Malta futbol
Mauritania كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Mauritius
Mexico fútbol the Spanish term for football
Moldova
Monaco football
Mongolia хөлбөмбөг (khölbömbög)
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco football
Mozambique futebol
Myanmar ball-pwe a pwe is a rural all-night dance party
Namibia futebol
Nepal फुटबल (Phutabala)
Netherlands / Holland voetbal
Netherlands Antilles voetbal
New Caledonia football
New Zealand soccer and football there has been a recent shift in usage from soccer to football
Nicaragua fútbol the Spanish term for football
Niger football
Nigeria football and soccer
Northern Ireland football
Northern Mariana Islands
North Macedonia фудбал (fudbal)
Norway fotball
Oman كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Pakistan football and soccer ਫੁੱਟਬਾਲ (Phutabāla) in Punjabi
Palestine كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Panama fútbol the Spanish term for football
Papua New Guinea soka
Paraguay fútbol the Spanish term for football
Peru fútbol the Spanish term for football
Philippines soccer and football Soccer is more common, a result of the American influence
Poland futbol the sport is also known as piłka nożna from piłka (ball) and noga (leg).
Portugal futebol
Puerto Rico soccer or fútbol It's called the Puerto Rican Football Federation, while their top league is the Puerto Rico Soccer League, however thr 2nd division is named Liga Nacional de Futbol de Puerto Rico.
Qatar كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Romania fotbal
Russia футбол - futbol
Rwanda football
Samoa soka or football
San Marino calcio
Sao Tome e Principe
Saudi Arabia كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Scotland football
Senegal football
Serbia фудбал - fudbal
Seychelles football
Sierra Leone
Singapore football and soccer
Slovakia futbal
Slovenia nogomet the word is derived from "noga", meaning "leg"
Solomon Islands
Somalia kubadda cagta
South Africa soccer sokker in Afrikaans
Spain fútbol the Spanish term for football
Sri Lanka පා පන්ද from the words foot and ball in Sinhala
St Kitts and Nevis football
St Lucia football
St Vincent and the Grenadines football
Sudan maén bal
Suriname voetbal
Sweden fotboll
Switzerland football
Syria كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Tahiti
Tajikistan футбол - futbol
Tanzania
Thailand ฟุตบอล - fút-bol
Timor-Leste
Togo football
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago football
Tunisia كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Türkiye / Turkey futbol
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Uganda
Ukraine футбол - futbol
United Arab Emirates كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Uruguay fútbol the Spanish term for football
US Virgin Islands soccer
USA soccer The word football is used to refer to American football, the dominant football code
Uzbekistan futbol
Vanuatu football
Venezuela fútbol the Spanish term for football
Vietnam "bóng đá" and "đá banh" both terms literally mean "kicking ball"
Wales pêl-droed fooball in the Welsh language
Yemen كرة القدم (kurat alqadam) football in Arabic
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe

sources: the names used around the world for Association Football has been collected from various sources, including originally many from wikipedia, google translate, and added to from visitor feedback.

Name by Language

Here are the names for Association Football in the languages of the world. There are 207 languages listed. The names are taken from each Wikipedia page for the sport 'Association Football' in each of these languages.

Language Name for Association Football
Abkhazian Ашьапылампыл
Acehnese Sipak bhan
Adyghe Лъэпэеу
Afrikaans Sokker
Albanian Futbolli
Alemannic Fussball
Amharic እግር ኳስ
Anglo-Saxon Gyldfōtþōðer
Arabic كرة القدم
Aragonese Fútbol
Armenian Ֆուտբոլ
Assamese ফুটবল
Asturian Fútbol
Aymara Phutwul
Azerbaijani Futbol
Banjar Main bal
Banyumasan Bal-balan
Bashkir Футбол
Basque Futbol
Bavarian Fuaßboi
Belarusian Футбол
Belarusian Футбол
Bengali ফুটবল
Bhojpuri फुटबाल
Bosnian Nogomet
Breton Mell-droad
Bulgarian Футбол
Burmese ဘောလုံးကစားခြင်း
Buryat (Russia) Футбол
Cantonese 足球
Catalan Futbol
Cebuano Saker
Chechen Футбол
Chichewa Mpira
Chinese 足球
Chuvash Футбол
Classical Chinese 足球
Corsican Pallò
Croatian Nogomet
Czech Fotbal
Danish Fodbold
Dinka Adiircök
Doteli फुटबल खेल
Dutch Voetbal
Dutch Low Saxon Vootbal
Eastern Punjabi ਫੁੱਟਬਾਲ
Egyptian Arabic كورة قدم
English Association football
Erzya Пильгеоска
Esperanto Futbalo
Estonian Jalgpall
Extremaduran Fubu
Faroese Fótbóltur
Fijian Soka
Finnish Jalkapallo
Franco-Provençal/Arpitan Calço
French Football
Friulian Balon
Galician Fútbol
Gan Chinese 腳球
Georgian ფეხბურთი
German Fußball
Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐍄𐌿𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌻𐌰
Greek Ποδόσφαιρο
Guarani Vakapipopo (Jetepyso)
Guianan Creole Football
Gujarati અસોસિએશન ફુટબોલ
Haitian Foutbòl
Hakka Chiuk-khiù
Hebrew כדורגל
Hindi फुटबॉल
Hungarian Labdarúgás
Icelandic Knattspyrna
Ido Futbalo
Igbo Footbọl
Ilokano Putbol
Indonesian Sepak bola
Interlingua Football
Interlingue Football
Inuktitut ᐊᔪᒃᑕᖅ
Irish Sacar
Italian Calcio (sport)
Japanese サッカー
Javanese Bal-balan
Kabiye Pɔɔlɩ maɖʋ
Kabyle Ddabex uḍar
Kannada ಅಸ್ಸೋಸಿಯೆಷನ್ ಫುಟ್‌ಬಾಲ್
Karakalpak Futbol
Kashubian Bala
Kazakh Футбол
Khmer បាល់ទាត់
Kinyarwanda Umupira w'amaguru
Komi Коксяр
Konkani Futbol
Korean 축구
Kurdish Futbol
Kyrgyz Футбол
Lak Футбол
Lao ເຕະບານ
Latin Pediludium
Latvian Futbols
Lezgian Футбол
Ligurian Zeugo do ballon
Limburgish Voetbal
Lingala Motópi
Lithuanian Futbolas
Livvi-Karelian Jalgumiäččy
Lombard Balun
Low Saxon Football
Lower Sorbian Kopańca
Luxembourgish Foussball
Macedonian Фудбал
Maithili फुटबल
Malagasy Baolina kitra
Malay Bola sepak
Malayalam ഫുട്ബോൾ
Maltese Futbol
Manx Soccer
Marathi फुटबॉल
Mazandarani فوتوال
Meadow Mari Футбол
Min Dong Kă-giù
Min Nan Kha-kiû
Minangkabau Sipak bola
Mingrelian კუჩხბურთი
Mirandese Bola (çporto)
Mongolian Хөлбөмбөг
Nāhuatl Neicxitapayolhuiliztli
Neapolitan Pallone
Nepali फुटबल खेल
North Frisian Futbaal
Northern Sami Spábbačiekčan
Northern Sotho Kgwele ya maoto
Norwegian Fotball
Norwegian Fotball
Novial Balonpede
Occitan Fotbòl
Old Church Slavonic Фоутболъ
Ossetian Футбол
Pashto فوټبال
Pennsylvania German Soccer
Persian فوتبال
Picard Fotbale
Polish Piłka nożna
Portuguese Futebol
Quechua Sinku hayt'ay
Ripuarian Foßball
Romanian Fotbal
Romansh Ballape
Russian Футбол
Rusyn Фотбал
Sakha Буутбал
Samoan Soka
Samogitian Fotbuols
Santali ᱪᱤᱸᱰᱩ (ᱯᱷᱩᱴᱵᱚᱞ)
Sardinian Fùbalu
Saterland Frisian Foutbal
Scots Fitbaw
Scottish Gaelic Ball-coise
Serbian Фудбал
Serbo-Croatian Fudbal
Shona Nhabvu
Sicilian Palluni (sport)
Silesian Fusbal
Slovak Futbal
Slovene Nogomet
Somali Kubadda Cagta
Sorani Kurdish تۆپی پێ
Southern Azerbaijani فوتبال
Spanish Fútbol
Sundanese Maén bal
Swahili Mpira wa miguu
Swedish Fotboll
Tagalog Futbol
Tajik Футбол
Tamil கால்பந்து கூட்டமைப்பு
Tatar Футбол
Telugu కాల్బంతి
Thai ฟุตบอล
Tibetan རྐང་རྩེད་སྤོ་ལོ།
Tok Pisin Soka
Tulu ಸಾಕರ್
Turkish Futbol
Turkmen Futbol
Ukrainian Футбол
Upper Sorbian Kopańca
Urdu ایسوسی ایشن فٹ بال
Uzbek Futbol
Venetian Bałon (spor)
Vietnamese Bóng đá
Võro Jalgpall
Walloon Fotbale
Waray Futbol
Welsh Pêl-droed
West Flemish Voetbol
West Frisian Fuotbal
Western Armenian Ֆութպոլ
Western Punjabi فٹ بال
Wolof Football
Wu 足球
Xhosa Ibhola ekhatywayo
Yiddish פוטבאל
Yoruba Bọ́ọ̀lù-ẹlẹ́sẹ̀
Zazaki Futbol
Zhuang Cukgiuz
Zulu Ibhola


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