What's in a song? The story behind the music playing at World Cup stadiums

NEW YORK, July 5 : Watching the World Cup and hearing the music in the stadium may have left you wondering — how is that chosen? Is it just coincidence that "Wonderwall" plays after England matches? Are "Freed from Desire" or "Livin' on a Prayer" always played? And why?

The songs are not random. Hundreds — more than 750, in fact, according to soccer governing body FIFA — are chosen in advance. FIFA has a "Stadium Entertainment Team" that works with the participating national associations to create playlists that mix stadium classics with country-specific favourites.

Each team has a "signature" song played when the line-up is announced, a warm-up song, and a track that is played if they score a goal. And one set of fans after each game gets to sing along to the post-match winning-team tune.

The playlists give an interesting cultural snapshot of the World Cup, in which 48 teams participated for the first time in 2026.

Some tracks — such as The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and, yes, 1990s Eurodance hit "Freed from Desire" by Gala, which has been doing the rounds of sports stadiums for at least a decade — have global reach, appearing on more than one list.

Songs like this that become popular have certain things in common. They need to be catchy, fun, and recognizable, said Andrew Lawn, British author of "We Lose Every Week: The History of Football Chanting."

The context is also key, he added.

"They become associated with a moment if that moment is successful," he said. "Then they stick because that kind of emotion gets kind of attached to the song."

Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" is an example of that, he said. Long popular with different sets of sporting fans, it caught on with England supporters in