Why Spain's players stand silent during La Marcha Real

Spain's players, coaching staff and supporters stand in silence when their national anthem is played before matches — not out of disrespect, but because the anthem has no words to sing.

Why La Marcha Real has no lyrics

Spain's anthem is known as 'La Marcha Real' (The Royal March) and began life as a military march. It was composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa and was designated a state anthem in 1770, later becoming the country's national anthem during the reign of Queen Isabella II, from 1833 to 1868.

Lyrics were added during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco in the 20th century, written by the poet José María Pemán. After Franco's rule ended, those words were dropped because of their association with his regime, leaving the anthem as an instrumental piece.

Several attempts have since been made to create new lyrics, but none has stuck. Spain has multiple official languages and strong regional identities, and proposals have repeatedly run into objections that any wording risked favouring one part of the country over another.

• Composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa; made a state anthem in 1770
• Became the national anthem under Queen Isabella II (1833-1868)
• Franco-era lyrics by José María Pemán were removed after his dictatorship
• Later lyric proposals were abandoned amid Spain's linguistic and regional diversity
• Spain is among a small group of countries whose anthem is purely instrumental

That places Spain in unusual company. Along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and San Marino, it is one of the few national teams in world football whose anthem is played without any words at all.

The silence was on display throughout Spain's run at Euro 2024, which Luis de la Fuente's side won by beating England in the final. It will be visible again as Spain contest the World Cup final against Argentina, with La Roja chasing a second world title while their anthem remains, as ever, wordless.