This is a list of songs released with the approval of the Football Association to coincide with the England national football team's participation in the finals of the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.
The England men's national football team represents England in senior men's international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England.
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is France, which won its second title at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
The UEFA European Championship is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), determining the continental champion of Europe. Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations' Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form "UEFA Euro [year]"; this format has since been retroactively applied to earlier tournaments.
The tradition of World Cup songs began in 1970. [1] Some of the later official songs were eclipsed by unofficial songs released around the same time; [2] at least 15 World Cup-themed singles were released for the 2002 finals, [1] and 30 for 2006. [3]
The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for men's national teams. Held from 31 May to 21 June in Mexico, it was the first World Cup tournament staged in North America, and the first held outside Europe and South America. Teams representing 75 nations from all six populated continents entered the competition, and its qualification rounds began in May 1968. Fourteen teams qualified from this process to join host nation Mexico and defending champions England in the 16-team final tournament. El Salvador, Israel and Morocco made their first appearances at the final stage.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation, Germany, for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition, and the tenth time that it was held in Europe.
The FA announced in January 2010 there would be no official England song for the 2010 World Cup. [2] Likewise, no official song was commissioned for the 2018 tournament. [4]
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA once every four years. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018. It was the first World Cup to be held in Eastern Europe, and the 11th time that it had been held in Europe. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it was the most expensive World Cup. It was also the first World Cup to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system.
| Tournament | Year | Song | Chart | Writers | Performers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup | 1970 | "Back Home" | 1 | Bill Martin, Phil Coulter | England squad | [5] The tune was reused in the 1990s for Fantasy Football League , on which Jeff Astle, who sang poorly on the original, often appeared and sang. |
| World Cup | 1982 | "This time (we’ll get it right)" | 2 [6] | Chris Norman, Pete Spencer | England squad | [5] Norman & Spencer, of Smokie, had written "Head Over Heels in Love" for Kevin Keegan in 1979. |
| World Cup | 1986 | "We've Got the Whole World at Our Feet" | 66 [1] | Tony Hiller, Stan James, Bobby James [7] | England squad | To the tune of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"; [1] modified from Nottingham Forest's anthem for the 1980 European Cup Final. The same team co-wrote Scotland's World Cup song, "Big trip to Mexico". [7] |
| Euro | 1988 | "All The Way" | 64 [8] | Stock, Aitken and Waterman | England squad | |
| World Cup | 1990 | "World in Motion" | 1 | New Order [2] and Keith Allen [5] | Englandneworder (England squad and New Order) | Featuring a rap from John Barnes [5] |
| Euro | 1996 | "Three Lions" | 1 | David Baddiel, Frank Skinner et al. | The Lightning Seeds/Baddiel & Skinner | [5] Re-released for the 1998 World Cup when it topped the #1 spot again. "We're In This Together" by Simply Red was the official song of the tournament, which England hosted. [9] |
| World Cup | 1998 | "(How Does it Feel to Be) on Top of the World?" | 9 [1] | Ian McCulloch [2] | England United (Echo and the Bunnymen, Space, Spice Girls, Simon Fowler) | Overshadowed by the unofficial anthems "Three Lions '98" and "Vindaloo". [10] |
| Euro | 2000 | "Jerusalem" | 10 [8] | William Blake, Sir Hubert Parry, Alex James, Keith Allen, Damien Hirst | Fat Les | Endorsed, but not originally commissioned, by the FA. |
| World Cup | 2002 | "We're On The Ball" | 3 | Ant & Dec | Ant & Dec [2] | |
| Euro | 2004 | "All Together Now 2004" | 5 | Peter Hooton, Steve Grimes | The Farm featuring the SFX Boys' Choir, Liverpool [8] | Originally released in 1990, the 2004 version was edited by DJ Spoony [8] |
| World Cup | 2006 | "World at Your Feet" | 3 | Embrace | Embrace | [2] |
| World Cup | 2010 | "Shout (Shout for England song)" | 1 | Roland Orzabal et al. | Dizzee Rascal (ft. James Corden) | Not an official song, though permission was given for the England football teams logo, and footage of England matches and players was used in the video. Royalties of the single went to Great Ormond Street Hospital. |
| Euro | 2012 | "Sing 4 England" | Paul Baker, B. Routedge | Chris 'Kammy' Kamara (ft. Joe Public Utd) | A charity single not commissioned by the FA but subsequently endorsed by it. [11] | |
| World Cup | 2014 | "Sport Relief's Greatest Day" | Take That | Gary Barlow, Eliza Doolittle, Katy B and Spice Girls Melanie C and Emma Bunton with former footballers such as Gary Lineker, Michael Owen, Peter Shilton, Glenn Hoddle and Sir Geoff Hurst | A re-recorded version of the Take That song featuring vocals from Barlow and other pop singers. It was announced as the official song for the England football team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with the video being presented on YouTube, but it was never released as a single. [12] |
