FIFA has announced that Shakira, Madonna and South Korean K-pop superstars BTS will headline the first-ever World Cup final halftime show at the 2026 tournament in North America.

The football governing body unveiled the star-studded lineup of big names in the music industry in a statement on Thursday. It also disclosed that Chris Martin of British rock band Coldplay will curate the show.

“The world’s biggest stage. An even bigger purpose. On July 19, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Final Halftime Show is coming to New York New Jersey Stadium, featuring superstars @Madonna , @shakira , and @bts_bighit, curated by @coldplay’s Chris Martin!” it stated.

FIFA also mentioned that it was targeting to raise $100 million from the halftime show, with the money expected to be channelled towards expanding access to education and football around the world.

“A FIFA World Cup first, the Halftime Show supports the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a landmark initiative working to raise $100 million to expand access to quality education and football for children around the world. Throughout the tournament, $1 from every ticket sold to FIFA World Cup 2026™ matches will be donated to the Fund,” the football governing body said.

Meanwhile, the announcement has sparked debate among netizens on social media, with many expressing excitement that their favourite artistes will perform at the World Cup, while some dismissed it as the Americanisation of football.

“I want to see Jungkook as a solo artist. He is honestly far too talented to only be shown for a few seconds and only inside a group. It’s starting to feel disappointing. Especially when some members, as solo artists, do not attract the same level of attention, and everything keeps depending on the group and Jungkook’s name again,” X user @@karolinast95795 said.

Another user, @leapanils, commented, “It’s really so cool ! I wonder which song they will perform, even if I have a little idea, I think it will necessarily be Swim, which is the main song of the album.”

“BTS on the first-ever FIFA World Cup Halftime Show in 2026?! This is going to be legendary. Can’t wait to see them perform on the biggest stage!” @BabybeeBam stated.

However, @HumanistChristy stated, “FIFA and America are just forcing things on us. 1st it was that WC country song, now a half-time show in the finals. Do you know the pressure & anxiety that comes with a WC final? You think people want to chant haha Hooligan at that moment? You’re not the 1st to host, respect the rules.”

@dabuthegemini claimed that FIFA “is embarrassing itself by trying to copy the American Super Bowl half-time show”.

“No football fan has ever watched football cause he was looking forward to musicians performing,” said the netizen. “That’s nonsense.”