FIFA soundtracks have come a long way since Road To World Cup 98. Back then, six songs seemed like plenty for a game where players would spend most of their time immersed by crowd noise as they have a virtual kick-about with their favorite stars. However, nowadays, FIFA players spend a huge proportion of their time in the menus, whether that’s succumbing to Ultimate Team’s microtransactions, fiddling about with player instructions in Kick-Off mode, or haggling for Cambridge United’s latest recruit as they’re guided to Champions League glory in Career Mode. As a result, the importance of FIFA’s background music has grown rapidly over the years, with EA Sports’ latest and final attempt, before FIFA is usurped by EA Sports FC, featuring over 100 songs from artists across 34 different countries.
FIFA soundtracks can launch minor artists on to the world stage, while also offering an eclectic mix that provides players with an insight into different cultures or introduces them to new artists or genres entirely. FIFA now owes just as much of its success to its audio as it does to its visuals, with EA Sports mastering the art of using sound to great effect over the years. There can be no greater proof of this than the studio's iconic "EA Sports, it's in the game" tagline.
One point of note is whether special FIFA World Cup games should be included in lists like these. Their inclusion certainly has some value, as K’NAAN’s "Wavin’ Flag" from the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa game is arguably the greatest FIFA song of all time. What’s more, World Cup 98’s "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba is one of the greatest intro songs of any game ever. That said, these games have been omitted from this particular list, largely in the interest of paring the field down to what can be considered FIFA's mainline entries.
#26 - FIFA 2000
A FIFA soundtrack where the highlight is a song by Robbie Williams is enough to place 2000 in the bottom spot.
#25 - FIFA 07
The Feeling’s "Sewn" just about gets FIFA 07 out of last place, which is a pretty sorry state of affairs, given it was the tenth FIFA to feature a soundtrack.
#24 - FIFA Football 2003
As tempting as it is to give FIFA Football 2003 bonus points for a cover featuring Edgar Davids, the fact remains that Idlewild’s "You Held the World in Your Arms" is as good as this soundtrack gets.
#23 - FIFA 2001
"Bodyrock" by Moby isn't necessarily the worst tune, but it doesn't contribute much to getting FIFA 2001 any higher in this ranking.
#22 - FIFA Football 2002
"19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)" by Gorillaz is the cream of a rather average crop for FIFA Football 2002.
#21 - FIFA 11
Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club have produced FIFA 13’s "Sleep Alone," FIFA 17’s "Are We Ready? (Wreck)," and the most FIFA song to never appear in a FIFA game, "What You Know." However, their journey into the beautiful game began with FIFA 11 and their hit "I Can Talk." Another highlight in 11 is "White Picket Fences" by the most FIFA-sounding group ever to have existed, Jump Jump Dance Dance.
#20 - FIFA 06
A head-bobbing guitar intro, one that will be familiar to fans hoping a new Guitar Hero releases under Microsoft, signals that the top 20 is beginning to get into some of the better entries in this ranking, with Bloc Party’s "Helicopter" generating some proper FIFA nostalgia as the headliner for the series' 06 installment.
#19 - FIFA Football 2005
As much as the Scissor Sisters don’t feel like dancing, players all did after listening to FIFA Football 2005’s "Take Your Mama."
#18 - FIFA 10
Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, and Theo Walcott completed an English triumvirate on the cover of FIFA 10 and, although he was Swedish-born, it was London local Tommy Sparks who delivered the game’s hit song with "She’s Got Me Dancing."
#17 - FIFA 08
The FIFA 08 soundtrack is rather lacking in quality, save for The Hoosiers’ "Goodbye Mr A," which is a true FIFA classic.
#16 - FIFA 21
The most disappointing soundtrack in the latest generation of games, ultimately bad for EA like FIFA's brand. Dua Lipa’s "Love Is Religion (The Blessed Madonna Remix)," KAWALA’s "Ticket To Ride," and Glass Animals’ "Heat Waves" are all good songs in their own right, but they don’t quite make the jump to being FIFA classics.
#15 - FIFA: Road To World Cup 98
The game that started them all. Although FIFA’s very first soundtrack is hardly extensive when compared to its modern rivals, Blur’s "Song 2" gave players an intro that saw footballs exploding out of a scoreboard.
#14 - FIFA 99
Although hardly a poet with his lyrics, Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, is the ultimate funk soul brother, with "The Rockafeller Skank" meaning that, despite just six songs featuring across the entire soundtrack, FIFA 99 comes in at #14.
#13 - FIFA 23
Its recent release makes it hard to judge, but crossplay compatible FIFA 23 could definitely rise in this list given more time, although it’ll have to settle for mid-table mediocrity for now. Trinidad Cardona, Davido, and Aisha’s "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)" will have players looking forward to the World Cup in Qatar later this year, while Pheelz and BNXN fka Buju’s "Finesse" will have its fair share of fans. The highlight however, has to be ROLE MODEL’s "forever&more," which is a proper FIFA song through and through.
#12 - FIFA 20
FIFA 20 saw the addition of Volta Football to the game, which brought with it its own separate soundtrack, further emphasizing the importance of music in modern-day FIFA, which still has long-running issues in FIFA 23. However, here the highlights were still found on the main soundtrack, with Dominic Fike and Kenny Beats’ "Phone Numbers" and Foals’ "The Runner."
#11 - FIFA 19
The inclusion of Donald Glover caused a great deal of excitement to surround the release of FIFA 19's soundtrack, with "Feels Like Summer" showing why Childish Gambino really belongs in the game. Bugzy Malone’s "Ordinary People (feat. JP Cooper)" is another strong tune, but a lack of a supporting cast around that duo limits how far this soundtrack can go.
#10 - FIFA Football 2004
There’s a reason Caesars’ "Jerk It Out" reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart. It’s the same reason it featured in the first edition of Just Dance and was also used to introduce Ted Lasso’s most energetic character, Dani Rojas: it makes listeners want to get up and move. It alone takes FIFA Football 2004 to another level (like FIFA 23's women's teams), worthy of edging into this ranking's top 10.
#9 - FIFA 09
FIFA 09 is an odd one; series favorites Kasabian and Foals both feature, but fail to shine, while there is also a Tom Jones remix. Despite all of this, the soundtrack is one fans look back fondly upon, largely due to MGMT's "Kids" and Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold."
#8 - FIFA 18
Many will look to Portugal. The Man’s "Live In The Moment," Tom Grennan’s "Found What I’ve Been Looking For," or Rex Orange County’s "Never Enough" when picking the best song of FIFA 18. All three are excellent choices, by artists who have since risen to even greater heights within the music industry. However, there's a great argument for Australian Tash Sultana's edgy track "Jungle" being the pick of the bunch.
#7 - FIFA 16
Like Years & Years, EA Sports struck "Gold" with FIFA 16’s soundtrack, something FIFA hopes to do without EA's partnership. Kaleo’s "Way Down We Go" was another huge hit, while Baio’s "Sister Of Pearl" has since skyrocketed in popularity, courtesy of featuring in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. "Mountain at My Gates" by the ever-reliable Foals just edges those three out for the best track here, though.
#6 - FIFA 17
FIFA 17 saw EA Sports bring the likes of Madeon, Two Door Cinema Club, and Catfish And The Bottlemen back to the beautiful game. However, of the returning acts, it was Kasabian who performed the best, with their single fittingly titled "Comeback Kid." All the FIFA regulars were still outshone though, as Paper Route's "Chariots" and Kygo’s "Raging (feat. Kodaline)" stole the show, kind of like how some players practically stole FIFA 23 for six cents.
#5 - FIFA 12
Most FIFA fans wouldn’t be able to tell what Brazilian rock band CSS stands for, but they’ll still be able to remember all the words to their rhythmic tune "Hits Me Like A Rock." As it turns out, CSS stands for Cansei de Ser Sexy, which roughly translates from Portuguese to "I’m tired of being sexy," which is ironic, as that song never tires of being sexy. Neither does Grouplove’s "Colours."
#4 - FIFA 22
A necessary upturn in form for FIFA’s soundtracks, as it followed a couple of worryingly poor entries. "Followers" by AREA21, Martin Garrix and Maejor is catchy, while providing some rather deep lyrics about the younger generation’s dependence on technology. Kojey Radical’s "War Outside (feat. Lex Amor)," meanwhile, makes full use of the best gaming speakers on the market. The best of the bunch though, is SEB’s "seaside_demo," which would be an all-time FIFA great, if it was only a little longer.
#3 - FIFA 15
Like crowning FIFA's best overall players, FIFA 15's soundtrack gets a podium finish. Despite some rather sketchy lyrics, Saint Motel’s "My Type" has long-been a fan-favorite, while Vance Joy’s "Mess Is Mine," and The Griswolds’ "16 Years" were also successes. Kwabs’ "Walk" was yet another hit, causing this soundtrack to slot in at #3.
#2 - FIFA 13
A very strong entry, that is just beaten to the top spot by the narrowest of margins. After all, The Chevin’s "Champion" is surely the best FIFA song of them all. However, the supporting cast of Youngblood Hawke’s "We Come Running," Imagine Dragons’ "On Top of the World," Rock Mafia’s "Fly Or Die," and Fitz and The Tantrums’ "Spark" is just outdone by the winner of this list, though a silver medal is worthy of FIFA 23's new celebrations.
#1 - FIFA 14
The ultimate FIFA soundtrack. John Newman’s "Love Me Again" is an iconic FIFA tune, though equal appreciation should also be dished out to Crystal Fighters’ "Love Natural" and Smallpools’ "Dreaming." The real crème de la crème of FIFA’s greatest ever soundtrack, though, is Olympic Ayres’ "Magic," with this foot-tapper of a song truly worthy of its title.