Football turns to soccer in countries where there is a game already dominating the phrase.
However, even there what we are seeing down under in Australia and New Zealand is that as the sport grows they are re-establishing the football name.
Australia’s national body is now the FFA (Football Federation of Australia), New Zealand now have the NZFA and actually run the NZFC (New Zealand Football Championship) ….
These are both relatively recent events (last five years) and grabbing the mindspace of the football name back has actually been hugely successful in the media.
The AFL Aussie Rules and NFL rugby league is still affectionately called footy (almost as a habit rolling off the tounge) but I’m seeing the term Aussie Rules used more and more as the A-League grabs the “football” space.
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The US and Canada have a long way to go in that regard – and actually seem happy to stay in the “Soccer” space. I guess the existing “football” domination is just too strong.