[Tagging] football or soccer ?

[Jason Cunningham]

Stephen, you missed the point I was making. I dont agree with sport=football
because, as you say, there are numerous versions of football out there.

What I have brought into the discussion is soccer is considered an insulting
word for 'association football' for 'football supporters' in the UK.
In England and Scotland we had a class split between Rugby Union and
Association Football.
The English/Scottish rich played Rugby Union and the working class played
Association Football.
The English rich sent their children to expensive boarding schools, where in
most cases Association Football was not allowed because it was seen as a
working class sport.
The English rich decided they didnt like using the long 'association
football', and were understandably unhappy about the working class stealing
the term 'football' for the working class game. So the rich English came up
with the term soccer.
Soccer was invented and used by the rich English to be slightly insulting,
although some will argue that is not the case.
Where there is no argument is that many working class English and Scottish
football supporters have a hatred of the term soccer because in England and
Scotland it is used by rich people or rugby supporters, and always said with
a slight sneer.
(Several countries dont like the use of the word 'football' to describe
Association Football and these countries used the word soccer. Ironically I
used soccer as child in Ireland)

As a result a lot of British football supporters will see the use of soccer,
when we could use association_football, as a deliberate insult. Seeing their
teams 'football stadiums' labelled as soccer stadiums is close to a
deceleration of war.
I would be confident in sport=soccer at some point resulting in large
amounts of vandalism to OSM.

So I suggest, football=association_football

Jason

No, Jason, what is insulting is when soccer players/fans try to claim
> exclusive use of a word which has been used for hundreds of years for
> many sports, of which soccer is one on the most recent, and also the
> least like the original.  Original football banned kicking the ball,
> it was carried and thrown only.
>
> You can recommend association_football if you like, but I would bet
> many more people can tell you what soccer is than association
> football.
>
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