Why is American football called 'football'?

Why It's Called Football

Some might say, simply, "because they kick the football."

But the real story is deeper. The origin of American football is in the history of the world's most popular sport: soccer. When soccer -- more universally known as "football" (which of course makes sense because soccer players use their feet) -- players decided to change their centuries-old game with restrictions such as the no-use-of- hand rules, people who disliked this broke away to create rugby. In the states we have created our own version of the game under the same old name "football" with more of a rugby style, the whole time forgetting why we call it that.

Here are other answers:

• American football is a derivative of rugby football, and while the feet are used more often in rugby than on the gridiron, much of the game is still played by handling the ball. Both variations are still considered football.

• North America style football didn't used to allow the "forward pass" and much more of the play involved foot work, such as the "drop kick" and the running punt kick. In the first rules, only the " side pass" was allowed, as long as the two players were side by side, with no forward motion of the ball, similar to rugby rules. The Canadian Football League ( CFL ) still allows a drop kick to score a field goal, and also has a thing called a "rouge" when the kicker is able to kick the ball thru the end zone, so it lands out of play , it is worth 2 points. Both the NFL and the CFL still have the drop-kick available as a weapon - on the point-after-touchdown, or from the field for 3 points. The "rouge" is worth a single point here in Canada.

Answer

The global name for football is of course football. The global name for american football is gridiron. Gridiron is a code of handball and not football.

Football is a sport where players control the ball with their feet and only football does this. Handball is where hands are used to control a ball.

Football has been played for many centuries but had no official rules.

The british created rules for football in 1848. After that many codes of handball arose including rugger and gridiron, none of which are codes of football.

Football, known only in canada and the USA as soccer, is the worlds most popular sport.

There are many reasons for this. In football you mainly use your feet, chest and head thus making the ball always open and so the game is fast paced and demands intelligence and a vast array of techniques.

In football size is not as important as in basketball, gridiron or rugby, so anyone with skill can become good at it.

Rich and poor alike can play the game as it requires little equipment at a basic level, although at the top level it is the richest sport on earth by some way.

Football is watched and played by more than any other sport globally mainly due to the excitement of hoping to see a goal and the importance each goal scored has on the flow of the match.

Each year football becomes more popular than the year before, no other sports have ever been able to achieve this over such a long period of time.

First answer by Justin. Last edit by DashingPrince. Contributor trust: 76 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 250 [recommend question]