3 July 2026
Shared goals: Why classical music and football are a winning formula
Dmitri Shostakovich called football “the ballet of the masses”- and in today’s global game, it is accompanied by a soundtrack to match. From a Baroque coronation masterpiece repurposed for the Champions League to Nessun Dorma’s rise from opera house to World Cup anthem, classical music has become embedded in the spectacle of football. As we head into the semi-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Geraldine Cardozo examines this unlikely cultural crossover and the deeper connections between the beautiful game and classical music.
Eyes on the score
Russian composer and football fanatic Dimitri Shostakovich called football “the ballet of the masses”. In 1930 he wrote a satirical ballet called The Golden Age, depicting a Soviet football team’s misadventures in a corrupt Western city which features a ‘Football Match’ movement, complete with a referee’s whistle. Shostakovich – as well as being a qualified referee – was a lifelong supporter of his local team, FC Zenit (called Zenit St Petersburg today). In 2016 the team celebrated their 90th anniversary by draping a huge portrait of the composer from the stands at the match against Spartak Moscow. This was accompanied by a live performance of musical quotations from his Leningrad Symphony. Note: Zenit went on to win the match 4-2!
English composer Edward Elgar fell in love with the game in his late 30s through his friendship with Dora ‘Dorabella’ Penny and would reportedly cycle long distances from his home to watch matches. A huge supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers he is said to have written one of the earliest football chants in 1898, called ‘He Banged the Leather for Goal’.
According to Dora, Elgar was not just struck by the game itself, but by the collective sound and crowd energy. “The dense crowd flowing down the road like a river… the roar… the shouts… and the deafening roar that greeted a goal… It all delighted him,” she wrote in her book, Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation. Today, football fans in stands across England sing their own anthems, inspired by one of Elgar’s best-known scores – Land of Hope and Glory.
“The dense crowd flowing down the road like a river… the roar… the shouts… and the deafening roar that greeted a goal… It all delighted [Elgar].”
And over the English Channel in France, composer Francis Poulenc was apparently inspired by the sight of “solemn-looking Benedictine monks – playing football” to write the choral harmonies in his famous Gloria!
Banging football anthems
From opera to classical repertoire, orchestral music is often used as a soundtrack to sporting events. Perhaps the most enduring memory for most World Cup fans, is when Pavarotti sang Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s opera Turandot as the theme song for the BBC’s coverage of the 1990 World Cup. This propelled the Three Tenors into mainstream global culture and significantly popularised opera far beyond its traditional audience. Since then Nessun Dorma has become a mass-cultural anthem associated with sport, victory and emotion, even reaching No.2 on the UK singles chart!
When George Frideric Handel composed Zadok the Priest for the coronation of King George II in 1727, would he have foreseen it becoming the anthem for a generation of European football fans 300 years later? Probably not.
Yet today is it used as the theme tune for the UEFA Champions League (Europe’s premier club football competition which brings together the top teams from domestic leagues across Europe). In 1992 composer Tony Britten adapted Handel’s baroque coronation masterpiece, adding multi-lingual lyrics: “Die Meister! Die Besten! Les grandes équipes! The champions!” Just as Handel’s Zadok the Priest once marked the crowning of kings, its modern echo now accompanies the crowning of Europe’s finest football clubs – transforming a sporting contest into a ritual of grandeur.
“Just as Handel’s Zadok the Priest once marked the crowning of kings, its modern echo now accompanies the crowning of Europe’s finest football clubs – transforming a sporting contest into a ritual of grandeur.”
In the blue-collar industrial city of Sunderland, in England’s north east, Sunderland A.F.C is one of England’s traditional football clubs, with a fiercely loyal fanbase. On home games the pitch becomes a stage as Sunderland A.F.C players enter the stadium to face their rivals to Prokofiev’s Montagues and Capulets (or ‘Dance of the Knights’) from the ballet Romeo and Juliet – one of the most recognisable pieces of 20th century orchestral music, and now the ‘unofficial theme’ of the club.
Honing their craft
Whether perfecting their skills on the pitch – or in the concert hall – there are several football players who picked up a musical instrument at an early age, demonstrating the discipline and dedication to training shared by the world’s elite athletes and top musicians.
Real Madrid forward and French football team captain Kylian Mbappé recently revealed a brief stint as a budding flute player. “My parents wanted me to do many things and explore many things,” he said. Meanwhile Chilean forward Alexis Sanches is an accomplished pianist, having kept up the hobby while pursuing his professional career and Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford also learned piano and violin.
In his book The Athletic Musician, oboist and former elite athlete and pole vaultist Matteo Costanzi discusses the parallels between music and sport.
“Most people think of music and sports as two very different worlds. One is about artistry and emotion, the other about strength and endurance. But in reality, they share a lot—dedication, discipline, and the need for smart, structured training.”
“Most people think of music and sports as two very different worlds. One is about artistry and emotion, the other about strength and endurance. But in reality, they share a lot—dedication, discipline, and the need for smart, structured training,” he writes, stressing that “the mindset of continuous improvement is key in both disciplines”.
As the final whistle blows, the link between football and orchestral music should come as no surprise. Both demand training, precision, timing and collective energy, turning individual skill into shared drama. In the drama of the World Cup, where nations hold their breath, classical music provides a language equal to football’s emotional scale – reminding us that, at their core, both are universal forms of expression capable of uniting audiences in a single, unforgettable voice, and eliciting a full spectrum of emotion in the space of 90 minutes.
