I don't know how many countries there are where you say football or some variant spelling ball a little differently and people think what we in the USA call Soccer. Where it is football people may not know what soccer is. That one needs to say Australian rules or American or Canadian football is an indication most of the world things football is played with a round ball and most of the time, except goalies not touched by the hands. aka soccer where football is played with an oblate spheroid sometimes kicked but mostly held and run with, or sometimes passed and caught by the hands. That may also describe rugby. Sorry, I am trying to distinguish other large ball games from football/soccer. There is also basketball and baseball and softball and tennis and golf and lots of sports that use balls. Field hockey, maybe lacrosse although I am not sure they use balls. Guys need them to play it, it may be the worlds most violent sport, unless you count bullfighting where the bull always losses and mostly dies. I though of another violent sport that uses a ball, water polo. Polo on horses uses a ball, hit by a mallet, a long mallet.
Most places the sport of the masses, since it only requires a ball, although a field with goals is nice, is soccer. Which in those places is called football.