Super Falcon star Asisat Oshoala and other football stars were featured as FIFA introduces innovative music strategy that was released today by the football governing body.

The new FIFA innovation has a new podcast series that included Liam Payne as well as footballers and global musicians such as Ivan Rakitić, Carli Lloyd, Asisat Oshoala, Lele Pons, Tiwa Savage, Wretch 32 and Morat, among others

This concept is an entertainment-driven strategy to foster meaningful connections between football fans, music enthusiasts, players, artists, and the game and their favourite songs.

Get ready for FIFA Sound. 🎧

Players, artists & fans will share their love of ⚽️ & the 🎶 that soundtrack it. Starting with the FIFA PlayOn Podcast!

Join @LiamPayne & @J_Dyer_Official with hero @IvanRakitic & @MoratBanda #FIFASOUND #PLAYON | @UMGhttps://t.co/7z3tyoaDl3pic.twitter.com/WX6tWDord5

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) January 13, 2021

Jean-François Pathy, FIFA’s Director of Marketing explained the rationale behind the new development.

“FIFA’s vision is to make football truly global, accessible and inclusive. The crossover between football and music underscores this wider cultural relevance. Both are universal languages and have the power to create unrivalled emotions. It’s a natural fit to bring them together,”.

“It’s been fantastic to see the enthusiasm around the launch of this strategy, and we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead to connect people through inspiring human stories.” Jean-François Pathy explained.

PlayOn will debut today, 13 January 2021, and is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and other podcast players. New episodes will be released weekly on Wednesdays.

Playlists featuring the songs chosen by each player will be posted on Spotify for listeners to enjoy. Guest pairings for the opening episodes include:

Ivan Rakitić & Morat, Carli Lloyd & Rachel Platten while Oshoala was paired with Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage.