An overview of the history and impact of official FIFA World Cup songs and anthems since 1990, highlighting key artists and tracks that have shaped the tournament's musical legacy.
The World Cup was inaugurated in 1930, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, began to adopt songs that would become the official soundtrack of the global soccer tournament, which happens every four years.
Some more popular than others, these official anthems have not only soundtracked World Cups; they’ve also gone on to change the careers of the artists who’ve performed them. Such was the case for Ricky Martin, who in 1998 recorded the euphoric official song “Cup of Life ” for the tournament that took place that year in France.
At the peak of the “Latin explosion,” with artists such as Martin crossing over to the English market, the Puerto Rican star teamed up with Desmond Child and Draco Rosa to write and produce the song, which originally peaked at No. 60 on thein 1998 and re-entered the chart at No. 45 in August 1999. The international smash hit also won a Grammy for best Latin pop performance.
Another official song that took on a life of its own was Shakira’s joyful “Waka Waka ,” featuring Afro-fusion band Freshlyground, for the 2010 soccer event held in South Africa. With more thanin Qatar, the first of which was the uplifting track “Hayya Hayya ,” featuring Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha.
It marked the first time ever the tournament had a multi-song soundtrack, with international artists “showcasing diverse musical genres that span the world, setting the tone for a truly global celebration,” Four years later, the organization continued the pattern by working with artists such as LISA, Jelly Roll, Burna Boy and more to curate another collection of songs for the 2026 World Cup in North America. It’s worth noting that World Cup-inspired songs have been released since 1962, but not all have been adopted by FIFA.
The ones below, for each year since 1990, are recognized as FIFA official theme songs and anthems. The 1994 Wold Cup was held in the United States with “Gloryland” as the official song that year. TheFIFA released an official song and an official anthem for the 1998 World Cup held in France.
Youssou N’Dour and Axelle Red’s was the official anthem titled ““; the official song was Ricky Martin’s “Cup of Life ” recorded in both English and Spanish. Martin’s track — aThe Time of Our LivesThe 2010 World Cup in South Africa had three official tracks soundtracking the tournament: official song, official mascot song and official anthem.
The official song was “Waka Waka ” recorded in Spanish and English by Colombian star Shakira featuring Freshlyground. The official mascot song was “Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte teamed up for the samba-driven trilingual official song “by Nicky Jam featuring Will Smith and Era Istrefi, which was performed during the tournament’s closing ceremony. The song was recorded in Spanish and in English.
The first official song FIFA released for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was “Hayya Hayya ,” an uplifting track featuring Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha that fused R&B and reggae influences. The soundtrack wasThe soundtrack for the 2026 World Cup held jointly in the United States, Mexico and Canada includes “Lighter” by Jelly Roll and Carín Leon, “Por Ella” by Los Ángeles Azules and Belinda, and “Echo” by Daddy Yankee and Shenseea.
Plus, Jessie Reyez and Elyanna contributed “Illuminate,” LISA, Anitta and Rema united on “Goals,” and Shakira returned for round two with a Burna Boy collaboration titled “Dai Dai. ”
FIFA World Cup Official Songs Ricky Martin Shakira World Cup Anthems Music History
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