World Cup halftime show sparks debate over music’s place in sport

FIFA staged its first World Cup final halftime show at New York New Jersey Stadium, also known as MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey on July 19, putting music at the center of football’s biggest match. The lineup grew from the first announced names, Madonna, Shakira and BTS, to include Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus from Staten Island, with Chris Martin of Coldplay credited as curator.

Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, had called the show “an unmissable event” in March 2025, saying it would be the moment “where sport, music and culture merge to unite the world.” FIFA tied the performance to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund and worked with Global Citizen to produce and curate the halftime spectacle, framing it as a historic first for a World Cup final.

The show was expected to run about 11 minutes, but the broadcast window around it drew nearly as much attention as the performers. NPR said the halftime segment would begin around 3:45 PM ET and air in the United States on Fox, Fox One, Telemundo, the Fox Sports app and Peacock in Spanish. The Telegraph said FIFA was set to stretch the interval to 30 minutes and that there had been no consultation, a sign that the format itself was becoming part of the controversy.

The backlash centered on whether FIFA was importing the Super Bowl model into the World Cup and changing the tournament’s identity in the process. Critics have described the move as a kind of American-style “Yankeefication” of football’s grandest stage, while supporters see a global showcase that links the sport to pop culture and charity fundraising. The debate sharpened because FIFA had already tested the format once before, with the inaugural Club World Cup final halftime show in 2025 featuring J Balvin, Doja Cat and Tems, also curated by Chris Martin and produced with Global Citizen.

FIFA’s own recent tournament programming shows how quickly music is being woven into match-day spectacle. The 2026 World Cup opening ceremony in Mexico City included performances by J Balvin and Maná, extending a long FIFA tradition of official songs and ceremony performances into something more like a concert break inside the game itself. With the final halftime show now established, the question for other sports bodies is no longer whether the model works as entertainment, but which tournament will copy it next.