Football in French Like most words concerning sport, the French use English words to refer to this sport: football. But they also like to arrange it to their liking. The French love abbreviations, so they say “le foot” more easily than “football”. The French team is called the “Bleus” (for men) and the “Bleues” (for women). It refers of course to the colour of the “maillot” (shirt) which comes from the French flag. In 1998, during the football world cup which took place in France, the men’s team, whose number 10 was Zinedine Zidane, was nicknamed the “Black-Blanc-Beur” to underline the various origins of the players. The most spoken words in French How to say the different positions in football French Une équipe Le gardien (de but) Les défenseurs Un ailier Les milieux de terrain Les attaquants Un buteur Les remplaçants Un entraîneur / un coach Un arbitre Un arbitre de touche English A team Goalkeeper Defender Winger Midfield Forward A striker Substitutes Coach Referee Line judge Equipment and field in French French Le maillot Le short Des chaussures Des chaussettes Le brassard du capitaine Le ballon Le siffle La surface de réparation Un poteau La touche Le filet English Uniform/kit Shorts Shoes Socks Captain’s armband Football Whistle Penalty box The goalpost The line Goal net Football actions in French French English Dribbler Être en position de hors-jeu Simuler Marquer (un but) Mener Tirer Passer / Faire une passe Tacler Être au coude-à-coude (elbow) Dribble To be offside To take a dive To score (a goal) To lead, be winning To shoot, kick To pass (the ball) Tackle To be neck and neck Football rules in French French La période La mi-temps Le temps réglementaire Les arrêts de jeu La prolongation Un but contre son camp Un coup franc Une faute Un petit pont Hors-jeu Match nul English Half Halftime Regular time (90 minutes) Stoppage time Overtime Own goal Free kick Foul Nutmeg Offside Tie-game The Belgicisms in football Are you talking with a Belgian about football? First of all, you’ll have to change the colour, because Belgians are called the “diables rouges” (red devils). And I’m afraid you’ll also have to learn another vocabulary list… when a foul occurs in the “surface de reparation” after a corner kick, Belgians will tend to talk about a foul “in the big rectangle” after “un coup de pied de coin”! Belge Coup de pied de coin / Corner Frapper la latte Vareuse Jambière Stucks Carte jaune/rouge Un goal Un keeper Un kicker Français Corner Toucher la barre transversale Maillot Protège-tibias Crampons Carton jaune/rouge Un but Un goal Un baby-foot En Co To Un Shi Stu Ye Ag Ag Tab
