This year’s FIFA World Cup final is set to dazzle spectators with a Super Bowl-style half-time show featuring Justin Bieber, Madonna, Shakira, and BTS at center stage.
However, this 11-minute spectacle has stirred controversy, as the extended break during the match between Argentina and Spain, held at New York New Jersey Stadium early Monday (AEST), is likely to exceed the standard 15-minute interval dictated by International Football Association Board rules.
FIFA has a history of extending half-time for special performances. Just last year, the Club World Cup final’s break extended to 25 minutes to feature J Balvin, Doja Cat, and Tems.
According to The Times, which referenced broadcast insiders, this year’s break during the World Cup final could stretch to an unprecedented 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, The Athletic reported FIFA’s aim is to limit the half-time to 20 minutes, allowing only nine minutes for the rapid setup and removal of the stage on the field.
FIFA said the show will support its Global Citizen Education Fund, which aims to raise US$100 million ($143 million) to help children around the world access education and football.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the performance would be “definitely the biggest stage ever”, with “a couple of billion” people expected to watch.
The show will also feature characters from Sesame Street and The Muppets.
For a US audience, a blockbuster half-time show is nothing new.
The NFL’s Super Bowl half-time show has evolved into one of the world’s most-watched musical events and a major pop culture spectacle.
But staging a performance during the World Cup final marks a significant departure from football tradition, prompting criticism from players, journalists and fans.
“Disgraceful again by FIFA… people watch the sport because they love football, not everything else that surrounds it. This will increase the likelihood of injuries/poor performance in second half when you’re cooling down that much,” former A-League player Stefan Mauk said on X.
The Telegraph’s Jason Burt wrote: “FIFA appears to be on a mission to Americanise football into soccer.
“The headliners are, and always should be, out on the pitch wearing shirts, shorts, socks and football boots and kicking a ball with the aim of scoring a goal.
“That is it. That is all that matters. If it was not the case, football would not be so popular. The rest is greed with football in danger of eating itself.”
Football journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor wrote on X: “A 30 minute half time show is obviously nonsense for all sorts of conditioning and legislative reasons, but in plain terms it’s yet another instance of the football coming second.”
The match will be at 5am Monday morning (AEST), which you can watch live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.
— With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse news agency.