FIFA and Global Citizen are teaming up to give the FIFA World Cup final match its own Super Bowl-style halftime show, the first of which will take place in 2026.
The two organizations announced the news on Saturday during the annual Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. Global Citizen – an advocacy group that organizes entertainment events with the aim of ending world hunger – will produce the halftime show as part of a four-year deal. The first halftime show will take place during the World Cup final, scheduled for July 19, 2026 at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
The announcement was made midway through Global Citizen’s signature festival in New York City by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans, and one of the latter organization’s official ambassadors, actor Hugh Jackman, as DJ Khalid and Gayle King looked on . They emphasized that the partnership between FIFA and Global Citizen is not just about putting on a show, but also about ending extreme poverty and increasing access to sports and quality education for children around the world enlarge.
The lack of a halftime show for the internationally watched game has been a subject of speculation, with the New York Times speculating about it earlier this year in a story headlined: “Would a halftime show work for the World Cup or Champions League final?” Now FIFA and Global Citizen have provided the answer: it was as much of a no-brainer as everyone thought. (Except for those who believed that impatient Europeans would never sit still during the long rests that American NFL fans are used to.)
While the first break for a World Cup final won’t happen until 2026, the four-year partnership for that includes Global Citizen’s participation in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, a new competition to be held in US cities next year. years, with 32 clubs from all six continental confederations. The 10 host cities for the ’25 games, announced at the festival Saturday, are Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Washington and Philadelphia.
“FIFA’s mission is to develop football in every corner of the world and have a positive impact on society,” Infantino said in a statement. “Through this partnership, FIFA and Global Citizen will bring together the worlds of sports and entertainment to actively contribute to a better world. We are committed to a range of joint activities that will help promote access to football and engage fans of the sport in an effort to create positive change in their local communities.”
Evans praised the statistic published by FIFA that 5 billion of the world’s 8 billion people were involved in some way in the last World Cup final. (FIFA has also said that 1.5 billion people watched the match live.) With that reach, he said: “Together with FIFA, we have a remarkable opportunity to broaden our movement of action takers…. FIFA and Global Citizen share a common vision to work with football fans around the world with the aim of taking positive action to end extreme poverty by ensuring all children have access to quality education.”
As part of the partnership, football fans will be asked to take action on Global Citizen’s signature issues. Activism will be encouraged with promotions including earning tickets to FIFA Club World Cup matches. More details will be announced in the coming months, the organizations said.
Saturday’s Global Citizen Festival in Central Park was expected to feature sets from Post Malone, Doja Cat, Lisa of Blackpink and Rauw Alejandro after the World Cup announcement. Artists who took the stage earlier in the day included Jelly Roll, Benson Boone and Raye.