Donald Trump Declares NFL Isn’t “Football,” Calls for New Name for the League

President Donald Trump and football have been at odds over the past year, especially with his criticisms about the current kickoff rules, as well as his stance against some of the decisions the NFL takes.

His disdain for those decisions has seen him openly criticize Roger Goodell and his officials, particularly when Bad Bunny was selected to perform in the upcoming Super Bowl LX halftime show.

Then there was the threat he issued to the Washington Commanders, where he was essentially forcing them to change their name back to the Redskins.

Thankfully, their stadium deal to return to the capital went through, but then, he demanded that the franchise name the upcoming RFK stadium after him.

It is unclear if any of his demands would make it through, as the league goes about its business without the interference of politics. But now, it is facing another conundrum when Donald Trump said this:

When you look at what has happened to the sport, which we call soccer in the U.S., we never call it that because we have another conflict with a thing called football. But when you think about it, this is football, there is no question. We have to come up with another name for the other one. It really does not make sense when you think about it.

Donald Trump said

Trump:

It should be called football. This is football, there is no question about it.

We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff. pic.twitter.com/2hwo023sNA

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 5, 2025

The 79-year-old said this during the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw on Friday in Washington, DC. He does have a point, as, other than the United States, the rest of the world knows football as the one that is termed here as soccer.

Is President Donald Trump right about football not being correctly named?

Some may wave away President Donald Trump‘s suggestion of changing the name from football to something else, as Americans have been calling the sport by that name since its inception.

However, there are some things to consider when comparing the two sports. Football, as is known in the country, is not played predominantly with the players’ feet.

Even in a full 60‑minute game made up only of field goals and punts, it would be tough to figure out how much of that time the ball actually spends touching a player’s foot.

Most of those 60 minutes are spent in the hands of players or in the air. Those who do not touch the ball are generally tasked with ensuring those who do stay safe.

In contrast, association football, or soccer as it is known here, whenever the ball is not in the air, it is at a player’s feet. The only athlete allowed to use his hands is the goalkeeper.

In fact, American football’s origins are in soccer and rugby. After 11 years of experimenting with soccer and rugby rules, in 1880, the sport’s first original rules were formed.

That is why anyone other than Americans refers to this sport as Gridiron football or American football. Donald Trump was referring to that basic difference that does not make it a ‘foot’ based ball sport.

Roger Goodell’s NFL might not listen to Donald Trump

President Donald Trump might be speaking based on logic, as the rest of the world has either frowned upon or joked whenever Americans call their sport ‘football.’ However, it is not possible to reinvent the wheel when 340 million people prefer to use that term. The name is not just associated with the NFL, as the sport is an integral part of the education system right from an early age.

On top of that, Roger Goodell and the NFL’s investors would have no interest in spending billions to rename the very name associated with them, just because a President, who will not be in office after 3 odd years, wants.

At a time when the National Football League is working hard to expand its global footing, especially where soccer is the de facto primary sport, a name change would be economically disastrous. It would also lead to a loss of face in front of the world.

Therefore, this, too, just like some other suggestions Donald Trump has for the league, will most likely fall on deaf ears. After all, there is too much at stake for the league to tend to such matters.

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