President Donald Trump suggested Friday that the United States should rename American football so that soccer can be renamed "football," which is the name that other countries use for the sport. 

The comment occurred during the president's remarks at the ceremonial final draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Kennedy Center. The United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host the 2026 World Cup in June.

The president's suggestion would mean that the National Football League (NFL) needs a new name, despite having the same name for over 100 years. It was previously the American Professional Football Association until 1922.

“When you look at what has happened to football in the United States, which is soccer in the United States, we seem to never call it (football) 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 … this is football, there’s no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL. It really doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”

Global fans usually differentiate between the sports by referring to the popular American sport as "American football," despite only one player kicking the ball in the NFL, versus every player kicking balls in soccer. 

The name soccer originated in England in the 19th century to differentiate rugby football from association football, according to USA Today. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.