Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <vocabulary>
Title: Should I say soccer game or soccer match?
Question: Which is the more correct: soccer game or soccer match? Are they both equally valid?

Answers:
sents: text: Note that in some sports, notably tennis, there is a division in which "match" occupies a higher place.
text: For instance in tennis, the players engage in a match, which consists of multiple sets, which consist of games.
text: Game and match mean the same thing when this hierarchy doesn't apply: when a single game is considered to be a match.
text: Which one is used depends on the region:
text: both the region where the sport originates, and the region from which the speaker comes from who describes it as either a game or match.
text: One-game-match sports from Britain tend to attract the "match" terminology.
text: See also: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/34105/what-determines-whether-a-sporting-event-is-a-game-match-contest-or-something
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/197/Kaz
score: 9
sents: text: Something of a generalization, but if you're calling it soccer
text: then you're most likely in the USA, or a place whose English is influenced by American English (since the USA is by far the most populous English-speaking region in which "football" means something else).
text: So team sporting events are generally called "games", soccer included.
text: But MLS does use "match" at least sometimes, so I suspect US soccer fans do likewise sometimes.
text: If you're speaking British English then formally it's pretty much always a "match", even if for some reason you're calling it "soccer" rather than "football".
text: Football itself is "a game" ("the game of football", "the beautiful game"), but a particular fixture is "a match" ("did you see the match?", "I'm going to the match").
text: The word "game" is also used when talking about the event in a less formal way ("he had a great game") and for variety.
text: Quoting a BBC news report that I'm watching that just reminded me of this question: "A capacity of 79 thousand people will be in there, watching the game, but around the world would you believe something like a billion people all over the planet will watch this match on television".
text: By the way, it's not exactly incorrect to call it "soccer" in British English (AFAIK the term was coined in England
text: meaning "asSOCiation football", as distinct from rugby football).
text: But it's unnecessary to specify, and "football" is preferred by almost everyone.
text: Calling it "soccer" suggests that you refer to something else as just "football", which means you're either some kind of foreigner or really devoted to rugby.
text: I don't know what happens in Australia, where "soccer" would often be used to distinguish from Aussie rules football.
text: If I had to guess, they would call it a "soccer match" there.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/4535/Steve Jessop
score: 8
sents: text: Either is valid, although I'm sure you will notice regional differences as to which is used.
text: In the Midwest of the US, I almost always hear game rather than match.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/3175/michelle
score: 5
sents: text: I think that match is used in sports in general like in wrestling (no game), but game is more like with friends or with sports with several players.
text: Also note that the FIFA games use match like the official page.but at the end they are equally intercheable.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/2132/Weapon X
score: 2
sents: text: For what it's worth, FIFA's Laws of the Games, Law 7 refers to 'The Duration of the Match'.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/6938/Sydney
score: 2
sents: text: Game or match?
text: This depends on what you mean.
text: I hope this adds a bit on your understanding of the two words...
text: When you say game, it could mean the game itself, not necessarily played, being played or about to be played.
text: It is simply the sports with the rules/regulations/etc.
text: When you say match, it means a game that was played, being played or about to be played by competing teams.
text: Examples:
text: I love playing the soccer game in my PS Vita.
text: -
text: The game itself
text: I love the soccer match between the X and the Y in my PS Vita.
text: -
text: Here the game was played
text: The soccer game was played by the X and the Y. - Here the game was played so now you could say it is a match.
text: The soccer match between the two teams was great!
text: -
text: Again, this means the game was played
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/10703/jim_nr
score: 2

Summary of the answers:
 If you're speaking British English then formally it's almost always a match. However, either is valid, and there may be regional differences. For example, in the Midwest of the US, you almost always hear game rather than match.
This varies regionally. In the UK it's generally 'match', whilst in the US it's 'game'.