When the majority of people here the words ‘football song' they inevitably cringe, and to be fairmost football songs are terrible. However, there are some that stand the test of time and bring back fond memories for football fans all around the world. We're bringing you aselection of football songs thatwe believe are the best and the worst football songs of all time.
This list is obviously based on personal bias and you may well disagree with which category these football songs should be in, but just sit back, enjoy some nostalgia and maybe have a listen to each song on YouTube (or maybe don't if they are truly as bad as we remember them to be) while we take you through some of the best and worst football songs of all time.
Best Songs
‘Three Lions' (1996) – Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds
This was the first football song I really loved. I bought the single on tape when I was 12-years-old and played it so much that my parents asked me to stop. It must have felt like torture to them, but for me ‘Three Lions' filled me with hope ahead of the 1996 European Championships. England fared well in that competition but were eventually knocked out in the semi-finals on penalties by the old enemy, Germany. Still, England's performance and the entire tournament was a joy to behold and I have nothing but fond memories when I listen to ‘Three Lions' even now…. even though the 30-years of hurt have increased to 55-years.
‘Vindaloo' (1998) – Fat Les
If not for the video alone, a micky take of The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony, this is a cracking sing-a-long football anthem. The verses don't mean much, this song is all about the chorus and I don't think anyone can listen to this tune without singing along when you hear ‘We're gonna score one more than you! England!'. Totally tonguein cheek, ‘Vindaloo' is fun, silly and yet still gets the adrenaline pumping ahead of any England game. This song made it all the way to No. 2 in the charts and yet England didn't even make to the quarter-finals of France 98, going out,once again on penalties, to Argentina.
‘Blue is the Colour' (1972) – Chelsea FC
Recorded ahead of what would end up being a disappointing League Cup final for Chelsea, ‘Blue is the Colour' has become a song in the terraces at Stamford Bridge. This is a feel-good football song of the era of the football songs, the 1970s, even non-Chelsea fans can appreciate this song for what it is. These 70s football songs were often very simple and repetitive, but they have stood the test of time with their clubs and can often still be heard in the grounds before kick-off, at half time and even at the final whistle.
‘Spirit of the Blues' (1984) – Everton FC
Originally released ahead of the 1984 FA Cup final, this Everton anthem hit the charts in September 2020 after it had been used in a meme celebrating the signings of James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure, reaching No.65 in the singles chart and No.1 in the downloads chart in October. If you haven't heard this song before and even if you aren't an Everton fan, give it a listen and enjoy what is one of the best football songs of all time. We need football clubs to get back into producing these kinds of songs, but that won't happen until the players stop worrying about their images so much.
Worst Songs
‘The Anfield Rap' (1988) – Liverpool FC
If you want to talk about football songs that have dated so badly that they should never be listened to ever again, or watched for that matter, then you don't need to go much further than ‘The Anfield Rap'. The fact they call it a ‘rap' is bad enough, but the shell-suits and those shockingly bad vocal performances by everyone, including John Barnes who would go one to do a good rap a couple of years later in the song ‘World in Motion', just make this the worst football song in history for me, but at least they had a go and seemed to enjoy themselves.
‘We're on the Ball' (2002) – Ant & Dec
I love Ant & Dec, they are tv royalty and always do everything with a smile on their faces and a bit of tongue in their cheek, but ‘We're on the Ball' is a terrible football song. If you watch the video for the song with the sound off it's quite a funny video as you would expect from the former Biker Grove duo, but the verses are sung poorly and the chorus is just annoying. I had to listen to this song for research… never again will I condemn my ears to such a punishment.
‘Don't Come Home Too Soon' (1998) – Del Amitri
This song was released ahead of the 1998 Wolrd Cup in France, a tournament that Scotland did well to qualify for. Instead of going for something upbeat that the fans could really get behind as their anthem, Scotland went with Del Amitri who churned out a depressing, slowed paced song with a boring video. In the end, Scotland did come home too soon, but then again, they always do. This song did not help matters though.
‘Shout for England' (2010) – Dizzee Rascal & James Corden
This mash-up of various famous tunes accompanied by the unique rapping style of Dizzee Rascal and some shouting by James Corden, will, if it hasn't already, be completely forgotten by most England fans. The song doesn't work and seems to have very little to do with the build-up to the 2010 Wolrd Cup. Honestly, this song is not worth listening to, its just bad. England's performance in the 2010 World Cup matched ‘Shout for England', they were poor and offered very little for the fans. Despite making it through the group stage, England were thrashed 4-1 by Germany in the first stage of the knockouts.
