Soundtracking the World Cup is a career milestone that many artists dream of. Not only can it become a defining moment in their music trajectory, but it can ultimately gain them international success.
Such was the case in 1998 when Ricky Martin was tapped by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to sing the official World Cup song for the tournament in France. The euphoric “Cup of Life (La Copa de la Vida)” not only peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it also earned him a Grammy for best Latin pop performance.
Moreover, Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” featuring Afro-fusion band Freshlyground—which they performed for the 2010 soccer match in South Africa—has become one of her biggest hits to date, peaking No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart dated July 3, 2010 and amassing more than 4.5 billion views on YouTube (at the time of publishing).
Now, 16 years later, the Colombian sensation and Nigerian star Burna Boy are at the forefront of the 2026 Official World Cup song with “Dai Dai”—a catchy reggaetón-tinged, Afrobeat track.
Although the World Cup inaugurated in 1930, it wasn’t until 1990 that FIFA began to release official songs of the global soccer tournament, which happens every four years. The first official FIFA World Cup song was “Un’estate italiana (To Be Number One)” performed by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini for the games in Italy in 1990.
Below, see all of the official FIFA World Cup songs to date and vote for your favorite one.
Editor’s Note: Results of the Best World Cup Song poll will be posted if the poll generates more than 1,000 votes. This poll closes at noon ET on Thursday, June 11—ahead of the first match of the 2026 World Cup.
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