The English FA have dismissed reports that the song ‘Three Lions’ would be off the charts at the forthcoming Qatar 2022 World Cup, saying they “never had any intention” of stopping playing the song before prominent England international games.
Originally released ahead of Euro 96, the anthem became a favourite of supporters and has been a regular soundtrack to the national team’s fixtures since then.
Nations have been habitually able to request songs played for the team at major tournaments and ‘Three Lions’ has been England’s choice in recent times, with an FA spokesperson confirming that won’t be changing later this year - despite some outlets claiming it would be dropped over fears of being offensive or perceived as arrogant by other countries.
“Contrary to reports this morning, The FA still plays Three Lions at major Wembley matches and has never had any intention of doing otherwise,” a statement read.
“The song belongs to the fans and is about the hope of following the England team.
“It was requested by the FA to be played as one of our team songs at the 2018 World Cup and at the Euros last summer, and this is our plan at tournaments going forwards.”
While the Baddiel and Skinner classic remains a regular, a Gareth Southgate-inspired twist on Atomic Kittens’ ‘You’re the One’ was often heard during the Russia 2018 finals, and last summer Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ was regularly belted out in the terraces and streets.
Last year co-creator David Baddiel said: “I think it’s the notion — misinterpreted by many people — that [the lyrics from the Three Lions song] football’s coming home means that England owns football and we are the homeland of football. Which historically is the case. We were the first one to ratify the rules of the game. But somehow that’s offensive to other FAs - like the Croatian FA or whatever.”
England are in Group B of the World Cup which gets underway in November and they will face Iran, USA and an as-yet-unknown fourth nation from Europe in their opening fixtures.
