Quote:
Originally Posted by blenky
I'm not upset and obviously you can call football anything you want 
I know the name 'Soccer' is used in many countries, specifically countries that came to football late and already had another game that they referred to as football. But answer me this, if it was only countries such as Australia, Canada and NOT the US would you be using it so freely now? No I didn't think so  |
As Rugby Football (Rugger for short - "a hooligans' game played by gentlemen") pre-dates Association Football (Soccer for short - "a gentleman's game played by hooligans") as the first formalised football game in English Public Schools, the latter should really always be referred to in full to distinguish it from the former or any other game of football. However, since it's mass adoption by hooligans, it has become the default when the term football is used without qualification in England.
Cricket is the national sport of England, despite what football aficionados tend to spout around World Cup time (1966 and 2010) or World Cup hosting bid time.
So what are the national sports of the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?