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 (La Copa de la Vida)” 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 the Billboard Hot 100 in 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 (This Time for Africa),” featuring Afro-fusion band Freshlyground, for the 2010 soccer event held in South Africa. With more than 4 billion views on YouTube to date, the track peaked at No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart dated July 3, 2010.
In 2022, FIFA changed things up by releasing a handful of official songs for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the first of which was the uplifting track “Hayya Hayya (Better Together),” 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,” according to FIFA.
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.
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1990 (Italy)
The official song for the soccer tournament held in Italy in 1990 was “Un’estate italiana (To Be Number One)” performed by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini in Italian and Giorgio Moroder Project in English.
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1994 (United States)
The 1994 Wold Cup was held in the United States with “Gloryland” as the official song that year. The soulful track, powered by a saxophone, was performed by rock, R&B and soul musician Daryl Hall and the vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness.
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1998 (France)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo FIFA 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 “La Cour des Grands (Do You Mind If I Play)“; the official song was Ricky Martin’s “Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida)” recorded in both English and Spanish. Martin’s track — a game-changer in his career — won the Grammy for best Latin pop performance.
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2002 (South Korea & Japan)
Held in South Korea and Japan, FIFA named “Let’s Get Together” performed by various local artists as the tournament’s official local song. The 2002 official song was “Boom” by dance artist Anastacia and official anthem was “Anthem” by Vangelis.
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2006 (Germany)
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2010 (South Africa)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The 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 (This Time For Africa)” recorded in Spanish and English by Colombian star Shakira featuring Freshlyground. The official mascot song was “Game On” by Pitbull, TKZee and Dario G and “Sign of a Victory” as the official anthem sung by R. Kelly, featuring the Soweto Spiritual Singers.
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2014 (Brazil)
Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian star Claudia Leitte teamed up for the samba-driven trilingual (English, Spanish and Portuguese) official song “Ole Ola (We Are One).” The official mascot song “Tatu Bom de Bola,” sung in Portuguese, by Arlindo Cruz and the official anthem was “Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way)” by Carlos Santana featuring Wyclef, Avicii, and Alexandre Pires.
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2018 (Russia)
For the 2018 World Cup held in Russia, FIFA released only an official song titled “Live It Up” 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.
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2022 (Qatar)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo The first official song FIFA released for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was “Hayya Hayya (Better Together),” an uplifting track featuring Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha that fused R&B and reggae influences. The soundtrack was later fleshed out with Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares’ “Tukoh Taka” and Ozuna, Gims and RedOne’s “Arhbo,” as well as Balqees, Nora Fatehi, Rahma Riad and Manal’s “Light the Sky” and Jung Kook of BTS’ “Dreamers.”
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2026 (United States, Canada & Mexico)
The 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.”