Music

A World Cup is won on the pitch, but it is also sold through a song. For 2026, football’s governing body built the biggest soundtrack in its history, and the early returns suggest the gamble is working.

By FIFA’s own tally, the official album has already drawn more than three hundred million streams. Its lead track, the Shakira and Burna Boy duet “Dai Dai,” has climbed into the top ten of Spotify’s global chart.

Latin Grammys 2025: When Latin Music Stops Being “Foreign”. (Photo Internet reproduction)

Why the World Cup album leans Latin

The lineup is a map of where global pop now lives. African stars like Burna Boy, Rema and Tyla share the record with a deep bench of Latin names, a south-to-south crossover that barely existed a decade ago.

Latin America sits at the centre of it. Brazil’s Anitta anchors one anthem, while Mexico supplies a cumbia from Los Ángeles Azules and Belinda, the regional star Carín León, and veterans like Alejandro Fernández.

That is not an accident but a business plan. Latin music is now among the most-streamed in the world, and stacking the album with its stars is the surest way to keep listeners pressing play across dozens of markets at once.

The math is simple enough. Spread across eighteen tracks, three hundred million streams average out to nearly twenty million plays a song, the kind of reach a single artist would struggle to buy.

Latin artists have long owned this stage. Shakira is on her fourth World Cup soundtrack, a record for any performer, a lineage that runs back through her own 2010 anthem to Ricky Martin’s 1998 hit.

Why a foreign reader should care

For anyone watching the business of entertainment, the soundtrack is a case study in how a mega-event turns culture into cash. FIFA released the songs in waves and keeps adding more mid-tournament, a drip designed to hold attention for a full month rather than a single opening night.

The latest drop made the point. On June 26 Madonna teamed with the Colombian star Feid for a bonus track, a reminder that the album is engineered to keep climbing as the knockout rounds arrive.

There is a charitable angle bolted on as well. Shakira is donating her royalties from “Dai Dai” to a FIFA education fund chasing one hundred million dollars, with her label matching the first quarter of a million raised.

The album is only part of the noise. FIFA paired it with a separate official anthem, a grand collaboration from Andrea Bocelli, David Guetta and Megan Thee Stallion, layering big-tent moments on top of the steady streaming push.

The payoff is measured in attention as much as money. A single song on the record can travel to listeners in well over a hundred countries, a global launch pad even the biggest labels cannot match on their own.

FIFA is not the only one mining the moment. The Brazilian great Ronaldinho launched his own star-studded football album, a sign of how much commercial gravity the tournament now exerts on Latin music.

The bigger story is what the numbers confirm. Latin pop is no longer a regional niche to be sprinkled on for flavour; it is the commercial engine a global event now reaches for first.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the World Cup album performing?

By FIFA’s count the official 2026 album has passed more than three hundred million streams, and its lead song “Dai Dai” by Shakira and Burna Boy has reached the top ten of Spotify’s global chart. With eighteen tracks released in waves, it is the most extensive World Cup soundtrack the body has ever assembled.

Which Latin artists are on it?

The record leans heavily on Latin and Latin American stars, including Brazil’s Anitta, Colombia’s Shakira and J Balvin, and Mexico’s Belinda, Los Ángeles Azules, Carín León and Alejandro Fernández. Puerto Rico’s Daddy Yankee and Venezuela‘s Danny Ocean also feature.

Why does a soundtrack matter commercially?

A mega-event soundtrack is a tool for holding global attention and revenue across a whole tournament, not just one match. By stacking the album with the world’s most-streamed genres and adding songs mid-event, FIFA keeps fans listening, and its sponsors and charity partners visible, for a full month.