Football Songs – Mrs Routledge

Current affairs Sport Lucy Wong June 26, 2018 0 Comments

I’m really NOT a fan of football, however there is no denying that some of the accompanying songs throughout the ages have been pretty awesome.

Mr Battman created a cracking list of British World Cup Songs from 90s and 00s (Vindaloo definitely my top one) but what about songs the rest of the world has had to offer? In chronological order…

1998 – Ricky Martin – “La Copa de la Vida” (The Cup of Life)

Another English Spanish mix by Puerto Rican 90s heartthrob Ricky Martin. Originally released in early 1998, it was picked up as the official song of the World Cup and the video, set at a sold out concert in Puerto Rico, was simply re-hashed with a few shots of footballers added in. It topped the charts for six weeks in Australia, France and Sweden, for four weeks in Germany, for two weeks in Spain, and for one week in Switzerland and Belgium. “The Cup of Life” reached also top ten in Norway, Austria and the Netherlands. I’m not sure the World Cup is the “Cup of Life” but I’m sure die-hard footy fans will disagree with me…

2010 – K’Naan ft. David Bisbal – “Wavin’ Flag” (the Spanish celebration mix!)

A mixture of English and Spanish with an “African vibe” by Somali-Canadian artist K’Naan, “Wavin’ Flag” is catchy, uplifting and pretty much the epitome of internationality and how nations can come together to enjoy world events! Used by Coca-Cola as their official promotion song, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing the catchy hook. It was in the Top-10 in over 20 countries and was translated into loads of languages from Vietnamese to Hindi and Hungarian.

2010 – Shakira ft. Freshlyground – “Waka Waka (This time for Africa)”

2010 was clearly a good year for World Cup songs and one of THREE World Cup songs that Shakira has released! Performed in English, Spanish and Fang, it was the official song of South Africa 2010, featuring the South African Afro-fusion band Freshlyground. The song draws inspiration from traditional African music and blends an African Colombian rhythm with a Soca-influenced beat. There was a bit of controversy however with this song, with several African artists pointing out that it was a chance to promote African musicians, whereas artists like Alicia Keys and the Black Eyed Peas were booked to perform at the final concert. It was also reported that Dominican singer Wilfrido Vargas filed a lawsuit against Shakira for plagiarising his “Waka Waka” riff, though this was later proven to be untrue.

2014 – Magic System ft. Chawki – “Magic in the Air”

Several of my KS3 classes will have heard this song this year (especially Y8 on the French trip!). Another very “international” song by Ivorian band Magic System, featuring Moroccan singer Chawki focusing on African football and written by a Swedish-Moroccan producer. This song was used to promote the UNESCO campaign, which auctioned official FIFA footballs signed by celebs and African footballers. Unfortunately, in the UK, we didn’t have the exposure we could have to this song because there is only one line in English and we have a reputation of not embracing non-English tunes. This makes me sad L. However, again it’s catchy, upbeat and should easily lift your mood if you’re feeling down!