“Soccer” comes from the original name of the game: “Association Football” - a game whose rules were set by the “Football Association” back in 1863. From WP: So

“Soccer” comes from the original name of the game: “Association Football” - a game whose rules were set by the “Football Association” back in 1863. From WP: Soccer was a term used by the upper class whereas the working and middle classes preferred the word "football"; as the upper class lost influence in British society from the 1960s on, "football" supplanted "soccer" as the most commonly used and accepted word.