What's the noun for footballists? Here's the word you're looking for.
football
(general) A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team.
(Britain, uncountable)Association football: a game in which two teams each contend to get a roundball into the other team's goal primarily by kicking the ball. Known as soccer in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
(US, uncountable)American football: a game in which two teams attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.
(Canada, uncountable)Canadian football: a game played on a wide field in which two teams attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.
(Ireland, uncountable)Gaelic football: a field game played with similar rules to hurling, but using hands and feet rather than a stick, and a ball, similar to, yet smaller than a soccer ball.
(Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, uncountable)rugby league.
“Junior players who have not sufficiently recovered from their injury should not be enticed by family members or the team coach to return to play football.”
“The punter's job is to kick the football to the other team if the offense stalls and doesn't pick up enough yardage for a first down.”
“Shall the basis of railway mail pay be made a political football?”
footballization
The process of increasing the popularity of football (soccer) in a region.
The influence of football on real-life matters such as politics, economics and the media.