Nigerian music star Burna Boy has come under criticism following his performance with Colombian singer Shakira during the first-ever FIFA World Cup final halftime show.
Burna Boy and Shakira performed the tournament’s official anthem, Dai, Dai, at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey during halftime of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
The performance was part of FIFA’s inaugural halftime entertainment, which also featured Madonna, Justin Bieber and appearances by Brazilian football legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
The show, curated by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, took place during the final, which Spain won 1-0 after extra time to claim their second FIFA World Cup title.
Despite widespread praise for Burna Boy’s appearance on one of football’s biggest stages, social commentator Daniel Regha questioned the Nigerian singer’s use of language in the official World Cup song.
In a post on X, Regha argued that Burna Boy missed an opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s cultural identity to a global audience.
“Shakira is from Columbia, Burna is from Nigeria; And both did a song together for the World Cup. Shakira’s native language is Spanish which was repeatedly heard in the song. Nigeria has over 520 native languages with Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba being the major three. Burna had over 10 lines in the song to himself but couldn’t incorporate any of Nigeria’s native language in his verse, instead he sang along happily in Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and French,” Regha wrote.
He also noted that Burna Boy did not include Nigerian Pidgin in the song.
“Not even pidgin language made it to the song to show this is Nigeria or Africa.”
According to Regha, Shakira successfully used the global platform to promote her country’s language and culture, while Burna Boy failed to do the same for Nigeria and Afrobeats.
“Shakira used the opportunity brilliantly to market her country globally, she has the whole world singing Spanish words, while Burna couldn’t even utilize the chance to put afrobeats on the map,” he added.
The comments have generated debate online, with some social media users agreeing that Burna Boy should have included at least one Nigerian language or Pidgin in his verse, while others defended the Grammy Award-winning singer, arguing that the song was an international collaboration designed to appeal to a global audience.
Burna Boy has not publicly responded to the criticism.
The halftime show itself also drew mixed reactions from football fans and pundits. Former Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo welcomed the innovation but said it should not affect the flow of the match.
“I would love to see more of it as long as it doesn’t eat into the stipulated duration of the game,” Yobo said.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was less impressed with the spectacle, saying, “It was a bit of an anti-climax, but listen, it’s so nice to see Shakira.”
The 27-minute halftime performance marked the first time FIFA introduced a Super Bowl-style entertainment show during a men’s World Cup final, signalling a major change to the tournament’s traditional format.
The performance took place during the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, where Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 after extra time to win their second World Cup title, their first since 2010. Spain completed the tournament with a remarkable defensive record, conceding just one goal throughout the competition despite playing eight matches under the expanded tournament format.
The victory also extended Spain’s unbeaten run to 38 matches, with the world champions defeating Portugal, Belgium, France and Argentina on their way to lifting the trophy.