Two World Wars and One World Cup

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"Two World Wars and One World Cup" is a football song sung by supporters of the England national football team to the tune of Camptown Races as part of the England–Germany football rivalry.[1] The chant refers to the United Kingdom's victories in the First and Second World Wars, and England's 4-2 victory against West Germany after extra time in the final game of the 1966 FIFA World Cup.[2][3] The chant has also spawned similar chants such as "Stand up if you won the war".[4]

History

The chant is believed to have been created in the 1960s, after England had won the World Cup against West Germany.[5] It was created by England fans to reflect on England's historic achievements.[6] In 2006, Market traders in Leicester, Leicestershire, were banned from selling t-shirts with "Two World Wars, 1 World Cup" on them by Leicester City Council amid fears that the shirts "could cause offence".[7] Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office attempted to dissuade England fans from singing "Two World Wars and One World Cup" while in Germany.[2] England players; David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard also took part in videos filmed to be played in fanzones before England matches, asking for fans to be respectful towards Germany.[3] Despite these attempts, the chant was widely used by England fans whilst in Germany.[8]

The chant has been criticised as "jingoistic", although a number of England supporters feel they are justified in singing it against Germany.[9] However it has been praised in some foreign media with one Australian commentator stating envy of England fans for being able to use it during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[10] A Canadian reporter also said that the chant reflected "a deeply historic sense of national honour".[11] During the 2010 FIFA World Cup South African communications company, MTN Group ran a television advertisement on South African television involving the chant.[12]

Other uses

"Two World Wars and One World Cup" is also the name of an episode of BBC documentary, Everyman.[13]

See also

References

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