Nobody handed IShowSpeed a spot on the Official FIFA World Cup 2026™ Album. He went and grabbed it himself — and the way it happened is one of the best stories of the entire tournament.
On June 1, 2026, Darren Jason Watkins Jr. — known to the internet as IShowSpeed, or simply Speed — released a football anthem called “World Cup (Champions)” entirely off his own back. No FIFA brief. No label co-sign asking him to do it. Just a 21-year-old from Cincinnati who loves football more than almost anything, channeling that into a track and a music video he’d been quietly building for months.
Within 24 hours, the video had crossed 10 million YouTube views. Within 72 hours, FIFA themselves slid into his DMs. Two days later, the track was officially part of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Album — sitting alongside Shakira, Future, Tyla, LISA, Daddy Yankee and The Rolling Stones.
Here’s the full story.
Who Is IShowSpeed?
If you’re reading a music site and somehow haven’t encountered IShowSpeed yet, here’s the essential background.
Darren Jason Watkins Jr. was born on January 21, 2005, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He started uploading to YouTube at age 11, began livestreaming in 2017, and spent years grinding with minimal viewership until 2021, when clips of his explosive, completely unfiltered reactions during gaming streams went viral on TikTok and sent his channel into the stratosphere.
By the time the 2022 FIFA World Cup rolled around, Speed had built one of the largest and most loyal audiences on the internet — and football was a big reason why. His passion for the sport, and specifically his near-obsessive devotion to Cristiano Ronaldo, had made him a global name well beyond the gaming community. A TikTok video of him meeting Ronaldo racked up over 100 million views. He bought a Lamborghini Huracan with a Ronaldo-themed livery. He wore the Portugal jersey to events he had no business wearing a football kit to. Nobody loved Ronaldo more publicly, and that authenticity resonated worldwide.
Today, IShowSpeed has 54.2 million YouTube subscribers and 8.4 billion total views, making him one of the most-watched English-language streamers on the platform. He has won Streamer of the Year at both the 2022 Streamy Awards and the 2024 Streamer Awards, and is signed to Warner Records for his music.
IShowSpeed and Football Music: A Track Record
“World Cup (Champions)” is not Speed’s first football anthem. It’s his second — and the gap between them tells you exactly how much his trajectory has changed.
In November 2022, ahead of the Qatar World Cup, Speed released a song simply called “World Cup” through Warner Records. The music video received 3.9 million views in 18 hours and the track charted across multiple countries. By the time Qatar was done, the song had accumulated over 55 million YouTube views — his second most-watched video ever at the time, behind only his viral track “Shake” from 2021.
That 2022 song was the proof of concept. “World Cup (Champions)” in 2026 is the full execution.
“World Cup (Champions)”: What Is the Song?
“World Cup (Champions)” — listed on Spotify as “Champions (WC 26)” — was released on June 1, 2026, through Warner Records, under exclusive license from Ishowspeed LLC. It runs 4 minutes and 15 seconds and was produced by BongoByTheWay, Pink Slip, and RiotUSA, with songwriting credits going to Speed alongside Doobie Newton, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr., Kyle Buckley, Olivier Francois, Shawn Shea, and Vicente Jimenez Gomez del Barco.
The track opens with Speed calling out all 48 teams that qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in alphabetical order — starting from Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria all the way through to USA, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, and Ivory Coast. It’s an immediate statement: this song is not about one nation or one fanbase. It’s about all of them.
The production sits in hip-hop and stadium-anthem territory — cinematic arrangement, swelling beats designed to feel like the soundtrack to a slow-motion highlight reel, with a chorus built specifically to make people raise their arms and sing back. Speed raps in his second verse: “We rise to the end, we gotta dream ’til we win / Give me the cup, the championship, told ’em I’m bringing it back to the crib.”
The message, as one reviewer put it, is not subtle — and that’s entirely the point. It’s loud, proud, and built for crowds.
The Music Video: Miami, Flags, and a Ronaldo Jersey
The official music video for “World Cup (Champions)” was directed by Zach Madden and filmed in Miami during a large-scale production shoot that Speed had been teasing for weeks through behind-the-scenes footage on social media.
The visuals feature Speed in stadium-inspired settings, surrounded by national flags, colored powder effects, and strong Ghanaian cultural influences — a nod to a country and fanbase that has been central to his global reach. And yes, throughout the video, he’s wearing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal jersey. Because of course he is.
The result is a video that feels markedly different from the polished, label-engineered approach of most FIFA official music campaigns. Critics noted that unlike the usual highly polished tournament anthem formula, Speed delivered something that felt genuinely made by a football fan, for football fans — and that authenticity is a big part of why it spread so fast.
How It Got on the Official Album: The DM That Broke the Internet
This is the part of the story that nobody predicted.
After “World Cup (Champions)” dropped and immediately exploded, Speed publicly tagged FIFA on social media, asking them to consider his track for official inclusion. FIFA’s initial response was simply: “We will be in touch.” That reply alone went viral, generating a wave of speculation.
Then, on June 3, 2026, Speed opened a direct message from the official FIFA World Cup Instagram account live on stream. The message read:
“We heard it. We liked it. It’s on the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album.”
Speed’s reaction on stream said everything. He jumped off his bed, started shouting, and immediately broke out Ronaldo’s iconic “Siuuuu” celebration. The clip of the moment spread across every platform within hours.
“It’s on the World Cup album.” Three seconds of a 21-year-old from Ohio losing his mind — and earning it entirely.
Where “Champions” Sits on the Album
Following FIFA’s confirmation, “World Cup (Champions)” was officially added to the Official FIFA World Cup 2026™ Album tracklist on June 3, 2026 — making it the only track on the album that was added after the initial lineup announcement and the only one that arrived through a completely organic, fan-driven process rather than a formal FIFA Sound commission.
On Spotify, the track is credited to IShowSpeed and is listed as part of the Official FIFA World Cup 2026™ Album under FIFA Sound. It has already crossed 8 million Spotify streams as of the time of writing, with the YouTube music video at well over 11 million views.
It also became IShowSpeed’s third song to chart on the Official Charts Company’s Video Streaming chart, alongside his 2022 “World Cup” and “Higher.”
For the full 18-track album picture, check our complete Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album tracklist guide, and our streaming platform guide for where to find every track.
Why This Matters Beyond the Song Itself
“World Cup (Champions)” landing on the official album is not just a good story for IShowSpeed’s career. It says something specific about where football and internet culture are in 2026.
The traditional model for a FIFA official album track is a closed-door commission: FIFA identifies the artists, the briefs go out, the songs get made. That’s how “Dai Dai,” “Game Time,” “Goals” and the rest of the confirmed lineup came together. Speed’s track went in the opposite direction entirely — it was made without permission, released without a FIFA relationship, and earned its place through sheer audience response.
That FIFA recognized it and added it isn’t just a goodwill gesture. It’s an acknowledgment that Speed’s audience and football’s audience are increasingly the same audience — and that the most authentic football content on the internet in 2026 does not always come from where you’d expect.
For the record, Speed has announced plans to travel the United States following the tournament’s matches across host cities — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle and more — before the final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey on July 19, 2026. The streams from those trips will almost certainly feature “Champions” prominently.
Stream “World Cup (Champions)” now on Spotify or watch the full music video on YouTube.
Quick FAQ
What is IShowSpeed’s real name? Darren Jason Watkins Jr. He was born on January 21, 2005, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
What is IShowSpeed’s World Cup 2026 song called? “World Cup (Champions)” — listed on Spotify as “Champions (WC 26).” It was released on June 1, 2026, through Warner Records.
How did “World Cup (Champions)” get on the FIFA album? IShowSpeed released it independently, it went viral with over 10 million YouTube views in 24 hours, and FIFA reached out via Instagram DM on June 3, 2026, to confirm its inclusion. Speed opened the DM live on stream.
Who produced “World Cup (Champions)”? The track was produced by BongoByTheWay, Pink Slip, and RiotUSA.
Has IShowSpeed released a World Cup song before? Yes. In November 2022, he released “World Cup” ahead of the Qatar FIFA World Cup through Warner Records. That track accumulated over 55 million YouTube views.
Where can I stream “World Cup (Champions)”?
On Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, and Deezer — part of the Official FIFA World Cup 2026™ Album under FIFA Sound.