Iconic Songs That Became Integral Parts Of FIFA World Cup Through the Years.

Though inaugurated in 1930, it wasn’t until 1962 that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, began to take up songs that would go on to become the official anthems of those particular years for the World Cup, which takes place every four years. In 1962, a Chile-based band Los Ramblers performed a song titled ‘El Rock del Mundial’ but it failed to inspire a global appeal. It was only with time that songs began to shift from trying to have a local appeal to going global.

Some of the soundtracks went on to be more popular than the others, giving a major turn to the careers of their artists, as evident with Ricky Martin’s song ‘Cup of Life’ ((La Copa de la Vida) that he performed for the 1998 World Cup, France. Another FIFA World Cup Song that went on to become one of the greatest hits of all time was Shakira’s 2010 anthem ‘Waka Waka’ which received more than 3 billion views on YouTube.

Below are some of the most iconic songs that have been accepted as the official anthems for the FIFA World Cup through the years:

1978, Argentina

Things took a turn for the best with the lyric-less musical piece ‘El Mundial’ was composed by the famous Italian musician Ennio Morricone, in collaboration with Buenos Aires Philharmonic for the 1978 World Cup hosted by Argentina.

1982, Spain

Spain, in 1982 followed in the footsteps of Argentina, when Plácido Domingo came up with the groovy hit Mundial ’82, paying a tribute to the Spanish culture.

1994, USA

Moving straight to the 1994 World Cup held in the USA, it was time for the soulful track, elevated by a saxophone, ‘Gloryland’ by Daryl Hall in collaboration with Sounds of Blackness. The official song of the World Cup that year was an outright exhibition of the nationalist pride of the USA, the host country.

1998, France

For the 1998 World Cup held in France, FIFA released an official anthem titled ‘La Cour des Grands’ (‘Do You Mind If I Play’) by Youssou N’Dour and Axelle Red but it was soon lost in the sands of time. FIFA also released an official song, which went on to be one of the greatest hits of all time: Ricky Martin’s ‘La Copa de la Vida’ (The Cup of Life’). The song that the Puerto Rican artist wrote and produced with Desmond Child and Draco Rosa was said to be created during the peak of “Latin explosion” and went on to win a Grammy for the ‘Best Latin Pop Song’ and was performed in both English and Spanish.

2010, South Africa

The 2010 World Cup held in South Africa was blessed with three official soundtracks:

“Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)” recorded in both Spanish and English by the Colombian singer Shakira and featuring Freshlyground as the official song, the official mascot song ‘Game On’ performed by Pitbull, TKZee and Dario G, and the official anthem ‘Sign of a Victory’ by R. Kelly and featuring the Soweto Spiritual Singers. Another song that won hearts was the song “Wavin’ Flag” by Somali-Canadian artist K’naan, which was chosen as Coca-Cola’s promotional anthem for the World Cup that year.

2014, Brazil

The samba-inspired trilingual (Spanish, Portuguese, and English) official song for the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil ‘Ole Ola (We Are One)’ starring the Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, Jennifer Lopez, and Pitbull became a global rage. The official anthem ‘Dar um Jeito’ (‘We Will Find a Way’) by Carlos Santana in collaboration with Wyclef, Avicii, and Alexandre Pires, and the official mascot song “Tatu Bom de Bola,” sung by Arlindo Cruz in Portuguese also became quite popular.

 2018, Russia

FIFA released only one official song ‘Live It Up’ by Nicky Jam that featured Will Smith and Era Istrefi for the 2018 World Cup that was performed during the closing ceremony of the tournament. The song was recorded in two languages: Spanish and English.

2022, Qatar

A product of the collaborative efforts of three creative musical geniuses Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and Aisha, ‘Hayya Hayya (Better Together’) has been declared the official song for the Qatar World Cup 2022. During the launch of the song, Kay Madati, the FIFA Chief Commercial Officer explained that the coming together of the voices from three different parts of the world – Africa, America, and the Middle East- the song is the symbol of the unification that can be brought about by music and football. It draws inspiration from R&B and reggae music and captures the essence of the joy and excitement that the World Cup this year is about to bring.

Multiple World Cup songs have been released by FIFA this year including ‘Ahrbo’ performed by Ozuna and Gims’ and the all-female collaborative track by Balqees, Nora Fatehi, Rahma Riad, and Manal ‘Light the Sky’.

The track “Dreamers” released by FIFA, and performed by Jung Kook of BTS on the opening day of the Qatar World Cup has received enormous love. He was joined on stage by Fahad Al Kubaisi and the power-packed performance won millions of hearts.

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