Copa de la Vida
Music and football have always shared a connection — and as the World Cup final approaches, FIFA is highlighting the link like never before
It’s 1998. The World Cup is in France. But a new era of globalization and international trade has created a rising demand for Latin music, and the world’s biggest soccer tournament needs an anthem.
Enter Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. A global sex symbol. A man blessed with a divine voice and the charisma to sell it anywhere. He is asked to write that year’s official song of the tournament, and boy, does he deliver.
“La Copa de la Vida,” or “The Cup of Life,” immediately defined both a generation of music and the musical impact of the biggest sporting event on Earth. The World Cup had been tied to songs before — in 1962, Chilean rock band Los Ramblers released “El Rock del Mundial” in advance of their country hosting the tournament — but not until Martin had a song truly crossed over from a stadium jam to a bona fide chart-topping hit.
