This is stated by "gang green nation"

"It is widely assumed that the word "football" (or "foot ball") references the action of the foot kicking a ball. There is an alternative explanation, which is that football originally referred to a variety of games in Medieval Europe, which were played on foot. There is no conclusive evidence for either explanation."

So nothing to do with the length, but STILL, for a sport derived by sports that involved kicking and feet action, handovals are handled by hands more than feet