Fifa uses Pakistan's 'Blockbuster' to celebrate Kylian Mbappe

Fifa has once again turned to Pakistani music but this time, it is celebrating French footballer Kylian Mbappe after celebrating Argentine footballer Lionel Messi's birthday with folk singer Arif Lohar's 2023 hit, "Aa", last month.

The international football association featured the viral hit "Blockbuster" in a video in celebration of the 25-year-old footballer's "entry" onto the field.

In a recent TikTok post, Fifa compiled Mbappe's on-field highlights with the catchy Punjabi song, which was composed and written by Pakistani artists Zulfikar Jabbar Khan (Xulfi), Umair Butt, Faris Shafi, and Shamroz Butt, playing in the background.

The post was captioned: "Mbappe's 'BLOCKBUSTER' entry".

The vocals for the song, which has an old folk music ring to it, were provided by Faris, who is also a famous Pakistani rapper, along with Umair and an all-female group called Gharwi Group, consisting of Abida, Rooha Rawal, Sajida Bibi, and Saba Hassan.

The song was released as part of Coke Studio Pakistan's season 15 in May and has gained popularity among millions of Pakistanis, while also receiving international recognition.

Xulfi took to his Instagram after he came across Fifa's post and wrote: "From Coke Studio Pakistan to FIFA's global stage - our 'Blockbuster' just made an appearance with Mbappe on FIFA's official TikTok page! This feels surreal.

"Our voice, our beats transcending boundaries, creating timelines that were once deemed improbable. Congratulations Pakistan This is wonderful and this is huge."

The song became popular thanks to the great dance number and its one-take music video.

The song also made its place among trending songs on Spotify India where listeners took to Instagram to comment on the international success of the song.

One Indian listener said: "It seems as if I have arrived at the border while scrolling."