Over the past two decades, the EA Sports FC (formerly known as FIFA) soundtrack has morphed into a distinct cultural phenomenon — one that is perhaps unrivalled in the video game space. Often graced by the likes of Kasabian, Foals and Two Door Cinema Club, these influential playlists have become more diversified in genre in recent years while also morphing into a unique platform for emerging artists to have their moment in the limelight.
‘[FIFA] songs are engraved in your brain,’ says Hastings-based rapper and songwriter Arka, whose track Soul features on EA Sports FC 25. ‘In British culture especially, we’ve all played [these games] our whole life. I remember being at Reading Festival when I was 15, walking past stages and [recognising] songs from the game.’
After 'trying to manifest' his own placement on this year's soundtrack, Arka was elated when EA then expressed an interest in including Soul in FC 25. It’s a similar story for Manchester indie artist Alex Spencer — aged 17, he's the youngest music creator on the FC 25 soundtrack. Alex found out about the news while on the bus to college: ‘I was so happy, because this is maybe every musician’s dream,’ he tells M. Now preparing for his song Nightmares to embrace its newfound status as an instantly recognisable ‘FIFA song’ — as they used to be known — Alex puts this dream sync placement down to 'the punchiness of the song.’
Arka, meanwhile, likens elements of Soul, which lives and breathes its UK garage influence, to the atmosphere of a football stadium. ‘It’s got trumpets in it; it sounds kind of [like a] football chant,’ he explains. ‘When I first previewed the tune, I had people in the comments saying, “This song could be on EA FC.” I guess [EA] thought the same!’
Continuing the game’s long-standing thread of guitar bangers is Uptight by indie-pop aficionados Home Counties. ‘We saw a tweet when [the soundtrack was announced] saying, “There's no guitar bands on FC any more,"' says the band's guitarist Conor Kearney. 'Someone then replied, “Bro, Home Counties are on there!’’’
Synth/percussion player Barn Peiser Pepin adds: ‘I guess we're the representatives of guitar music in general [on this year’s soundtrack].’
All three artists were individually approached to feature on the soundtrack by EA, with the company first making contact with both Alex and Arka in 2023. While that didn't materialise for last year's game, it does suggest that EA are keeping tabs on the most exciting emerging artists around and waiting for their most appropriate track to drop.
'Getting on the EA FC soundtrack is maybe every musician's dream.' - Alex Spencer
Much to their amusement, Home Counties were asked by their management to change the chorus to Uptight after they were offered an ‘exciting sync opportunity'. ‘We got asked to do a "clean version" where there’s no brands in it,' recalls Conor. 'The chorus lyric is, "They’re all out of Red Stripe / Only drinking Bud Light."' ‘An unusable chorus for a big sync!' Barn adds with a laugh.
Spanning an eclectic mix of genres, the likes of Nia Archives, Ezra Collective and Pa Salieu are some of the more prominent names on this year’s soundtrack. ‘To be anywhere near Charli XCX on a playlist is pretty cool,’ admits Conor, who is hoping to pick up a copy of the game he used to binge during the pandemic. Though Alex wasn’t allowed his own console growing up, he fondly remembers taking part in tournaments at his mates’ houses, soundtracked by Sam Fender’s Play God or Catfish and the Bottlemen’s Cocoon. The gravity of such an ‘iconic’ sync placement is not lost on Arka, either, who admits it’s the ‘one game I’ve always played’.
Admittedly, the process of sync placements is still somewhat new for all three artists, who all agree that what defines a ‘FIFA song’ is as fluid and versatile as ever.
‘It’s a mystery, how it works and who's in control,' Barn says, sharing his view on EA's curation process. ‘Being on EA Sports FC has [lifted] something under us to understand how the sync process works and who to talk to. It's not really something that we talk about [as a band], but it does seem to be really important… we're going to try and be a bit more active in understanding how to get more placements.’
Arka says that, in his experience, sync placements ‘happen behind the scenes — they come to you’. ‘When I’m in the studio, I don’t really plan releases around sync placements, but I’ve definitely made songs that I’ve listened back to and thought, "That could be great for a sync". Unfortunately, I don't decide what goes where.'
The foundation of any successful sync placement is well-crafted artistry, whatever form that might take — which should never be anything other than a major priority for artists anyway. In an ever-changing musical landscape, though, Home Counties are aiming to embrace the bountiful possibilities that sync opportunities can bring.
‘From day one of a release, you want to be gunning for as much exposure as possible,' Conor explains. ‘The live show is a good format, but sync... you can do it from home. You don't have to jump in a van, hire loads of stuff and sell loads of tickets. It’s definitely an easier mechanism once you're through the door — but then it's harder to get through that door.’
‘In terms of the historic culture of being a band, it’s not something that you think you need to do,' suggest Barn. '[But] there’s an extra dimension now… sync is something you can’t avoid as an up-and-coming artist.'
It’s a statement that similarly rings true for Alex, who is also leaning into TikTok which, like EA FC, should help him strike a chord with young music fans. ‘That’s where the hype is,' he says. 'I’ve been pushing Nightmares on TikTok, but [being featured on] EA FC is just insane because it’s going to reach so many people.’
'Sync is something you can’t avoid as an up-and-coming artist.' - Barn Peiser Pepin, Home Counties
Since the soundtrack was announced on 16 September, Soul, Uptight and Nightmares have all seen their streaming numbers skyrocket. It’s important to remember, however, that this is just the beginning: these songs will take on new lives across the coming year, and even have a shot at joining the iconic cult classics that only the EA Sports FC soundtrack can generate.
EA Sports FC 2025 is out today (27 September).
