Football.
Concise and accurate.
Common usage and common sense.
The Otago Daily Times today welcomes back the proper name of the beautiful game.
We have decided to retire the worn-out "soccer" label and officially introduce "football" to the newspaper's editorial style.
Our switch follows the renaming of the national body (now New Zealand Football) and the national league (now the New Zealand Football Championship).
We also believe there has been a strong reclamation of the "football" label by the round-ball community, at the same time as "rugby football" - the term, not the game - has become virtually extinct.
"Soccer" will live on for a while, and will no doubt appear in the paper in the middle of quotations from time to time.
Otherwise, "football" is back. Just in time for the World Cup.
Your feedback on this change is welcome. Email me (hayden.meikle@odt.co.nz) with your thoughts.
