WASHINGTON, United States — United States (US) President Donald Trump has revived the longstanding debate over whether the sport known in the US as “soccer” should instead be called “football”, arguing that the American terminology “doesn’t make sense”.

According to the New York Post, Trump made the remarks on Friday during the World Cup 2026 drawing ceremony at the Kennedy Center, where he was recognised as the first recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize. Speaking during an on-stage Q&A, he suggested that the US should rethink its naming conventions.

“United States, we seem to never call it that because we have a little bit of a conflict with another thing that’s called ‘football,” Trump said. “But when you think about it… shouldn’t it really be called— I mean, this is football. There’s no question about that. We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff. It really doesn’t make sense.”

The question of what to call the world’s most popular sport has sparked debate for generations. While many argue that the US “Americanised” the name by adopting the term “soccer”, research suggests otherwise, the report said.

It added that Stefan Szymanski, a sports management professor at the University of Michigan, has pointed out that the term originated in England before becoming widely used in North America.