Matura Companion Reading Comprehension - Football or Soccer

Football or soccer?

The game the British call football is known as ‘soccer’ in countries such as Ireland and the USA, where the word ‘football’ refers to a different game. As sports involving balls have been played around the world for thousands of years, it’s not surprising that there are so many variations of football. Not all early sports that were called football involved kicking a ball, though. In fact, in some cases, the word ‘football’ was used because the game was played on foot rather than on horseback.

People often assume that the word soccer has its origins in America and has something to do with socks, but neither assumption is correct. In fact, ‘soccer’ was first used in English schools in the 1860s. The story goes that in October 1863, a group of English football teams came together to create a set of official rules for their game. Football had been an important part of extracurricular life in England’s top schools for around a century, but each had its own rules. Some versions involved catching the ball, while others – especially in schools with large outside space – put more focus on kicking the ball far. The writers of the 1863 document referred to their sport as ‘Association Football’ to distinguish it from other sports with football in their name, such as rugby football. Later that same year, an Oxford schoolboy called Charles Wreford-Brown was asked one day if he would like to play ‘rugger’.

English schoolboys at the time liked to create nicknames for things by adding ‘-er’ to words, and ‘rugger’ was their nickname for rugby football. Wreford-Brown’s response was ‘I prefer assoccer’ by which he meant association football. This was later further shortened to ‘soccer’ and that was the name that stuck.

In the beginning, soccer teams were all associated with institutions such as universities, schools or hospitals. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first independent football club, Sheffield FC, was formed. Over the next 20 years, other clubs followed which are still well known today. Some of the most famous are Notts County, Everton and Manchester City. 1871 saw the first FA Cup, a tournament that is still held annually in England to this day. Professional football began in 1885. This meant that football clubs could not only pay their players a wage but could also pay money for a player to move from one club to another. The first notable transfer happened in 1893 when Scottish player Willie Groves moved from Aston Villa to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £100. As transport links improved around the world, international football became possible. The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and featured just 13 teams. Today, the World Cup is a global event watched by people. Soccer is a billion-pound industry with players moving between clubs for tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. The game has certainly come a long way from that day in 1863!

Question:

Nowadays, the word ‘football’ is used to talk about:

A) any game played on foot.

B) different sports in different countries.

C) the sport of soccer only.

D) sports where you don’t use your hands.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Football or soccer?

The game the British call football is known as ‘soccer’ in countries such as Ireland and the USA, where the word ‘football’ refers to a different game. As sports involving balls have been played around the world for thousands of years, it’s not surprising that there are so many variations of football. Not all early sports that were called football involved kicking a ball, though. In fact, in some cases, the word ‘football’ was used because the game was played on foot rather than on horseback.

People often assume that the word soccer has its origins in America and has something to do with socks, but neither assumption is correct. In fact, ‘soccer’ was first used in English schools in the 1860s. The story goes that in October 1863, a group of English football teams came together to create a set of official rules for their game. Football had been an important part of extracurricular life in England’s top schools for around a century, but each had its own rules. Some versions involved catching the ball, while others – especially in schools with large outside space – put more focus on kicking the ball far. The writers of the 1863 document referred to their sport as ‘Association Football’ to distinguish it from other sports with football in their name, such as rugby football. Later that same year, an Oxford schoolboy called Charles Wreford-Brown was asked one day if he would like to play ‘rugger’.

English schoolboys at the time liked to create nicknames for things by adding ‘-er’ to words, and ‘rugger’ was their nickname for rugby football. Wreford-Brown’s response was ‘I prefer assoccer’ by which he meant association football. This was later further shortened to ‘soccer’ and that was the name that stuck.

In the beginning, soccer teams were all associated with institutions such as universities, schools or hospitals. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first independent football club, Sheffield FC, was formed. Over the next 20 years, other clubs followed which are still well known today. Some of the most famous are Notts County, Everton and Manchester City. 1871 saw the first FA Cup, a tournament that is still held annually in England to this day. Professional football began in 1885. This meant that football clubs could not only pay their players a wage but could also pay money for a player to move from one club to another. The first notable transfer happened in 1893 when Scottish player Willie Groves moved from Aston Villa to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £100. As transport links improved around the world, international football became possible. The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and featured just 13 teams. Today, the World Cup is a global event watched by people. Soccer is a billion-pound industry with players moving between clubs for tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. The game has certainly come a long way from that day in 1863!

Question:

The term ‘soccer’ originated in

A) England.

B) the United States.

C) Ireland.

D) South America.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Football or soccer?

The game the British call football is known as ‘soccer’ in countries such as Ireland and the USA, where the word ‘football’ refers to a different game. As sports involving balls have been played around the world for thousands of years, it’s not surprising that there are so many variations of football. Not all early sports that were called football involved kicking a ball, though. In fact, in some cases, the word ‘football’ was used because the game was played on foot rather than on horseback.

People often assume that the word soccer has its origins in America and has something to do with socks, but neither assumption is correct. In fact, ‘soccer’ was first used in English schools in the 1860s. The story goes that in October 1863, a group of English football teams came together to create a set of official rules for their game. Football had been an important part of extracurricular life in England’s top schools for around a century, but each had its own rules. Some versions involved catching the ball, while others – especially in schools with large outside space – put more focus on kicking the ball far. The writers of the 1863 document referred to their sport as ‘Association Football’ to distinguish it from other sports with football in their name, such as rugby football. Later that same year, an Oxford schoolboy called Charles Wreford-Brown was asked one day if he would like to play ‘rugger’.

English schoolboys at the time liked to create nicknames for things by adding ‘-er’ to words, and ‘rugger’ was their nickname for rugby football. Wreford-Brown’s response was ‘I prefer assoccer’ by which he meant association football. This was later further shortened to ‘soccer’ and that was the name that stuck.

In the beginning, soccer teams were all associated with institutions such as universities, schools or hospitals. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first independent football club, Sheffield FC, was formed. Over the next 20 years, other clubs followed which are still well known today. Some of the most famous are Notts County, Everton and Manchester City. 1871 saw the first FA Cup, a tournament that is still held annually in England to this day. Professional football began in 1885. This meant that football clubs could not only pay their players a wage but could also pay money for a player to move from one club to another. The first notable transfer happened in 1893 when Scottish player Willie Groves moved from Aston Villa to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £100. As transport links improved around the world, international football became possible. The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and featured just 13 teams. Today, the World Cup is a global event watched by people. Soccer is a billion-pound industry with players moving between clubs for tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. The game has certainly come a long way from that day in 1863!

Question:

The name ‘association football’ was created by

A schools.

B football teams.

C rugby teams.

D schoolboys.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Football or soccer?

The game the British call football is known as ‘soccer’ in countries such as Ireland and the USA, where the word ‘football’ refers to a different game. As sports involving balls have been played around the world for thousands of years, it’s not surprising that there are so many variations of football. Not all early sports that were called football involved kicking a ball, though. In fact, in some cases, the word ‘football’ was used because the game was played on foot rather than on horseback.

People often assume that the word soccer has its origins in America and has something to do with socks, but neither assumption is correct. In fact, ‘soccer’ was first used in English schools in the 1860s. The story goes that in October 1863, a group of English football teams came together to create a set of official rules for their game. Football had been an important part of extracurricular life in England’s top schools for around a century, but each had its own rules. Some versions involved catching the ball, while others – especially in schools with large outside space – put more focus on kicking the ball far. The writers of the 1863 document referred to their sport as ‘Association Football’ to distinguish it from other sports with football in their name, such as rugby football. Later that same year, an Oxford schoolboy called Charles Wreford-Brown was asked one day if he would like to play ‘rugger’.

English schoolboys at the time liked to create nicknames for things by adding ‘-er’ to words, and ‘rugger’ was their nickname for rugby football. Wreford-Brown’s response was ‘I prefer assoccer’ by which he meant association football. This was later further shortened to ‘soccer’ and that was the name that stuck.

In the beginning, soccer teams were all associated with institutions such as universities, schools or hospitals. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first independent football club, Sheffield FC, was formed. Over the next 20 years, other clubs followed which are still well known today. Some of the most famous are Notts County, Everton and Manchester City. 1871 saw the first FA Cup, a tournament that is still held annually in England to this day. Professional football began in 1885. This meant that football clubs could not only pay their players a wage but could also pay money for a player to move from one club to another. The first notable transfer happened in 1893 when Scottish player Willie Groves moved from Aston Villa to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £100. As transport links improved around the world, international football became possible. The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and featured just 13 teams. Today, the World Cup is a global event watched by people. Soccer is a billion-pound industry with players moving between clubs for tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. The game has certainly come a long way from that day in 1863!

Question:

Manchester City football club was founded in the 20th century.

• true

• false

Football or soccer?

The game the British call football is known as ‘soccer’ in countries such as Ireland and the USA, where the word ‘football’ refers to a different game. As sports involving balls have been played around the world for thousands of years, it’s not surprising that there are so many variations of football. Not all early sports that were called football involved kicking a ball, though. In fact, in some cases, the word ‘football’ was used because the game was played on foot rather than on horseback.

People often assume that the word soccer has its origins in America and has something to do with socks, but neither assumption is correct. In fact, ‘soccer’ was first used in English schools in the 1860s. The story goes that in October 1863, a group of English football teams came together to create a set of official rules for their game. Football had been an important part of extracurricular life in England’s top schools for around a century, but each had its own rules. Some versions involved catching the ball, while others – especially in schools with large outside space – put more focus on kicking the ball far. The writers of the 1863 document referred to their sport as ‘Association Football’ to distinguish it from other sports with football in their name, such as rugby football. Later that same year, an Oxford schoolboy called Charles Wreford-Brown was asked one day if he would like to play ‘rugger’.

English schoolboys at the time liked to create nicknames for things by adding ‘-er’ to words, and ‘rugger’ was their nickname for rugby football. Wreford-Brown’s response was ‘I prefer assoccer’ by which he meant association football. This was later further shortened to ‘soccer’ and that was the name that stuck.

In the beginning, soccer teams were all associated with institutions such as universities, schools or hospitals. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first independent football club, Sheffield FC, was formed. Over the next 20 years, other clubs followed which are still well known today. Some of the most famous are Notts County, Everton and Manchester City. 1871 saw the first FA Cup, a tournament that is still held annually in England to this day. Professional football began in 1885. This meant that football clubs could not only pay their players a wage but could also pay money for a player to move from one club to another. The first notable transfer happened in 1893 when Scottish player Willie Groves moved from Aston Villa to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £100. As transport links improved around the world, international football became possible. The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and featured just 13 teams. Today, the World Cup is a global event watched by people. Soccer is a billion-pound industry with players moving between clubs for tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. The game has certainly come a long way from that day in 1863!

Question:

The first person to play professionally was Willie Groves

• true

• false

Football or soccer?

The game the British call football is known as ‘soccer’ in countries such as Ireland and the USA, where the word ‘football’ refers to a different game. As sports involving balls have been played around the world for thousands of years, it’s not surprising that there are so many variations of football. Not all early sports that were called football involved kicking a ball, though. In fact, in some cases, the word ‘football’ was used because the game was played on foot rather than on horseback.

People often assume that the word soccer has its origins in America and has something to do with socks, but neither assumption is correct. In fact, ‘soccer’ was first used in English schools in the 1860s. The story goes that in October 1863, a group of English football teams came together to create a set of official rules for their game. Football had been an important part of extracurricular life in England’s top schools for around a century, but each had its own rules. Some versions involved catching the ball, while others – especially in schools with large outside space – put more focus on kicking the ball far. The writers of the 1863 document referred to their sport as ‘Association Football’ to distinguish it from other sports with football in their name, such as rugby football. Later that same year, an Oxford schoolboy called Charles Wreford-Brown was asked one day if he would like to play ‘rugger’.

English schoolboys at the time liked to create nicknames for things by adding ‘-er’ to words, and ‘rugger’ was their nickname for rugby football. Wreford-Brown’s response was ‘I prefer assoccer’ by which he meant association football. This was later further shortened to ‘soccer’ and that was the name that stuck.

In the beginning, soccer teams were all associated with institutions such as universities, schools or hospitals. It wasn’t until 1857 that the first independent football club, Sheffield FC, was formed. Over the next 20 years, other clubs followed which are still well known today. Some of the most famous are Notts County, Everton and Manchester City. 1871 saw the first FA Cup, a tournament that is still held annually in England to this day. Professional football began in 1885. This meant that football clubs could not only pay their players a wage but could also pay money for a player to move from one club to another. The first notable transfer happened in 1893 when Scottish player Willie Groves moved from Aston Villa to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £100. As transport links improved around the world, international football became possible. The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 and featured just 13 teams. Today, the World Cup is a global event watched by people. Soccer is a billion-pound industry with players moving between clubs for tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds. The game has certainly come a long way from that day in 1863!

Question:

International football was enabled by better transportation.

• true

• false

What did Charles Wreford-Brown come up with?   the word _______

• football

• soccer

• rugby

• American football