There has been a disappointing lack of tournament anthems over the last two decades but Northern Ireland have look to readdress that trend with the release of ‘Girl Got Game’ for the UEFA Women’s Euros 2022.
The track is performed by Belfast-based artist Jessica Hammond, formerly of The Voice, in conjunction with the Irish Football Association.
Jessica started her music career at 14 on Disney’s ‘My Camp Rock’ performing alongside Demi Lovato and has worked with some top producers and Grammy Award-winning writers, including Amy Wadge (Thinking Out Loud/Ed Sheeran) and Ollie Jacobs (The Saturdays).
Jessica said: “‘Girl Got Game’ is a female empowerment song. I wanted to write a song where the vibe was uplifting and motivating. I wanted to write lyrics using football terminology like ‘always ready to attack’ and ‘don’t take your eye off the ball’ while also keeping it vague enough to be relatable outside of the game, and to be a feelgood song for all women, even outside of the sport.”
It comes as the team, and the Irish FA, kick off a countdown of activity before the tournament starts in England on 6 July. Kenny Shiels’ side will face an away trip to Belgium in a friendly on 23 June whilst later that day at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, there will be a fan-focused event, held in conjunction with the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs, for those making the trip over the water followed by a special squad announcement event on 27 June, again to be held at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park.
It would’ve been nice if a few of the players might have got behind the mic and given John Barnes a run for his money. The song itself is catchy but I don’t know if we’ll hear too much of it echoing around St Mary’s Stadium when the tournament begins.