Throughout the nearly 100-year history of the World Cup, songwriters and musicians have made full stadiums sing along to their anthems, transforming a sports experience into a musical one as well. Over the years, artists from across the globe\u2014including Shakira, Alicia Keys, Ricky Martin, K\u2019naan, Jennifer Lopez, Jung Kook, Maluma, and Nicki Minaj\u2014have contributed memorable songs to the World Cup, helping turn the tournament into a shared musical experience as well as a sporting one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 2026 World Cup, which runs from June 11 through July 19, many artists from diverse countries took their shots at writing a song for the event, but only a few were selected by FIFA. With the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup taking place in 2030, we offer this advice from Berklee Online instructors for emerging musicians and songwriters who might want to start writing the next World Cup anthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re thinking about an anthem, it\u2019s gotta be uplifting, empowering, unifying, and people need to feel a sense of belonging,\u201d says Rodney Alejandro<\/a>, who teaches Topline and Vocal Production<\/em><\/a> at Berklee Online. \u201cWhen we think of anthems, we think of big stadiums, we think of a lot of people. What\u2019s the energy that moves a stadium? It\u2019s gonna be rhythm and voices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The process of writing an anthem for an event like the World Cup requires a bigger focus on themes that can easily appeal to greater audiences. This is why songwriters and producers should take a different approach than when writing a regular song. Instead of thinking about the sounds and arrangements that are significant to a specific artist and appealing to their fanbase demographics, songwriters should begin to think about inspiring a massive number of people with widely different musical tastes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have to create a world that a majority of people can recognize,\u201d says Alejandro when speaking to the difference in producing a song for an artist vs. an anthem that will be globally accepted. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to make sure the entire world can relate to the sounds. You come back to rhythm, drums, typically rock guitar because that leads into the power, and really strong-sounding choir voices, something that sounds like a giant crowd.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Katie Day<\/a>, who teaches Writing and Producing Advertising Music<\/em><\/a> at Berklee Online, highlights the importance of remaining genuine to your work, even though the reason for this song is for a universal event rather than a personal expression. Audiences will be more likely to connect to your lyrics if they come from a feeling of passion and excitement that is at once both universal and personal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do think the level of passion and authenticity behind it does make a difference. If you are genuinely excited about an event, team, or purpose, and you can translate that excitement musically, it will cut through the noise and connect with an audience,\u201d says Day, who has some experience with this kind of songwriting. She wrote the Chicago Cubs victory song<\/a> for the World Series in 2016 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anthems that are recognized worldwide generally consist of a rhythm that is easy to replicate and simple lyrics that foster a sense of community and can be sung by everyone, regardless of the language that they speak. The song \u201cWe Are One (Ole Ola)\u201d performed by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Claudia Leite is a great example.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWriting and Producing an Anthem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n