The soundtrack for FIFA 2004 was not only the best that EA Sports had put together up to this point, but it’s arguably still the best one to this day. A notable mention must also go to Scottish alt rockers Idlewild, who narrowly missed out on being included on this mixtape with the anthemic “You Held the World in Your Arms,” which was also featured on the game. Dynamite beat a whole host of critically acclaimed acts such as Doves, The Streets and even David Bowie to win the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in the UK for her debut album “A Little Deeper,” which this track featured on. One month before FIFA 2003’s release, Ms. This catchy reggae infused dance track features a sample of “Nimrod” by The Skatalites and remains a cult favorite to this day for FIFA fans of a certain age who grew up with the game.Īfter a few instances of indifferent years of soundtracks featuring the likes of Robbie Williams and DJ Tiësto, FIFA made a musical return to form on FIFA 2003, with “Dy-Na- Mi-Tee” by Ms.
Over the years the FIFA series has engrained many tracks, which ordinarily would have remained in total obscurity, into the collective consciousness of football fanatics worldwide, with the perfect example of this phenomena being “Rude Boy Rock” by Lionrock. “Song 2” turned out to be Blur’s most popular song in North America after they moved away from the more “Britpop” sound they employed whilst they were at the peak of their powers in the mid-1990s. Blur released “Song 2” as a single in April 1997, which gave the track six months to gain sufficient traction before it was included on the soundtrack in late 1997. At just two minutes and one second in length and the only licensed track on the game, it’s certainly a cautious step from EA Sports into the world of soundtracks. The PlaylistĪs the title track on FIFA 98, “Song 2” was the first piece of licensed music to ever feature in the FIFA game series.
Twenty years on from the release of the first game with a licensed soundtrack ( FIFA 98, which was actually released in 1997), here’s a celebration of some of the best and most iconic music to be featured on FIFA soundtracks.
Not only does the FIFA series offer football fans a realistic and enjoyable recreation of “the beautiful game” from the comfort of their sofa, but their soundtracks always feature an interesting and eclectic collection of music.
FIFA is utterly dominant in the football genre of the video game market and the latest installment of the series, FIFA 17, sold over 40 times as many copies as its nearest rival, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017, in the first week of its release alone. The FIFA series, released annually by EA Sports, is one of the most successful video game franchises on the planet since its launch in 1993, it has sold well over 100 million copies worldwide. Click on the provided Spotify playlist and listen to this week’s arrangement while you read a few words about the selections. Much like the classic mixtape, Tracklisted presents a collection of songs under a selected theme, which you can check out below.