Welcome to the Soccer Tavern, where we’re discussing the history, culture, and philosophy of the beautiful game. My name is Dave and in this video, we’re talking about the origin of the soccer term international cap or just cap for short. Pull up a seat & let’s start the discussion.
For those who may not know, an international cap, which we’ll just call cap from now on, is the term used to refer to a player making an international appearance for his or her country.
Why is this called a cap? Well, it actually comes from a physical cap (or hat) awarded to players.
In soccer’s early days, players were not required to wear matching uniforms and most often would identify teammates based on their teammates wearing similar color stockings, scarves, or caps.
This practice was common throughout England in soccer’s early years but was formalized in 1886 with a proposal by a man named N. Lane Jackson.
His proposal stated that “…all players taking part for England in future international matches be presented with a white silk cap with red rose embroidered on the front. These to be termed International Caps.”
The colors of white and red, as well as the rose, symbolized England.
Now, the actual caps that were awarded were slightly different than the original proposal as they were blue velvet and had the match date sewn on them above the rose.
It should be clarified that even at this time, the cap was largely ceremonial as matching kits had begun to be widely adopted in the soccer world.
From a statistics standpoint, every time a player steps onto the field in an international match to represent his or her country, that is considered a cap.
The practice of awarding caps for international appearances is where the term came from and the term continues to be used today.
Some countries still award physical caps to players for making an international appearance. In England’s case, the modern caps now have the 3 lions logo in place of the red rose on the front of the cap. In addition, the word England, the match opponent, and the year are embroidered on the cap peak with a silver tassel on top of the cap.
The exception to awarding a physical cap for every appearance is that when a player is involved in a tournament such as the World Cup or European Championships. In that case, the player is awarded 1 cap for the duration of the tournament with all opponents and the tournament name sewn into the 1 cap. It is called a Cap of Honor.
So, players may not have as many physical caps as the record books indicate but that doesn’t really matter as the record books are what’s most important.
Now you know why it’s called a cap. If you have anything else to add to the discussion, please let us know in the comments section below the video.
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