I like soccer and all, I played in high school for a bit, but it's so rare anyone scores.
An exciting soccer game ends with a score of maybe 2-1. Maybe a really good game ends 4-2.
In AF, there are multiple ways to score, creating more opportune times for something to happen.
The game starts and stops all the time, no consistancy.
Technically true, but each play in AF has the potential to be exciting.
Soccer continues on, but most of the time is just kicking the ball up and down the field, with only a few exciting moments when the ball gets near the net.
If you watch an AF game long enough, it bound to be thrilling sooner or later. Watching soccer, you can be waiting a while for something thrilling to happen.
Also, the start-stop method of AF allows a lot more strategy to be involved. Plays are designed, formations are designed, Running backs run patterns, wide receivers run specific routes, Quarterbacks have specific things to accomplish, it can becomes like a chess match, only with 300 pound guys running onto each other. The offense is constantly trying to come up a new play that will throw the defense off, the defense devises schemes to thwart the offense, or force the offense to do something specific.
An offense must decided to run or pass. Will the runner run up the middle to a specific side? What pattern will a wide receiver run? Should the offense go for a quick short pas, or a long down the field pass? There are hundreds of variables.
The defense has to decided how many players to rush at the quarterback, and how many to drop on coverage. Should they play man to man or zone defense? Should the safety come up to defend a run, or drop back to defend a pass?
Every play is designed with a specific purpose in mind.
Soccer, not as much. Yes, in soccer, you have formations and try to take advantage of the match ups by putting your best players against your opponents weaker players, but once the game is going, you don't vary from the strategy, and adjustments are only made at the 1/2 or during a time out. If you decided to go power forward or strong defense, that pretty much it for that 1/2.
In soccer, the coach can call a time out to switch from zone to man to man, but in AF, the players switch back and forth between zone and man to man all the time.
To say soccer requires more skill is just being biased and not looking at what a NFL player goes through to get prepared for a game.