Madonna, Shakira and K-pop megastars BTS will headline a Super Bowl-style half-time show at the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, FIFA said Thursday.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin is curating the show, which is a first for a football World Cup final but has raised concerns about how long half-time will be.

The biggest-ever World Cup, with 48 teams, kicks off on June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced in March last year that there would be “the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final”.

He did not say at the time who would be performing or how long the show would last.

“This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world,” he said on Instagram.

The move mirrors the show held during the final of the 2024 Copa America in Miami, when Colombian star Shakira performed at half-time at the Hard Rock Stadium.

There was also a half-time show at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final, also at MetLife Stadium, which stretched the break in excess of the regulation 15 minutes.

Infantino added that FIFA also planned to “take over” New York’s Times Square on the final weekend of the World Cup.

The half-time extravaganza will support FIFA’s Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative working to raise $100 million for children worldwide during the World Cup.

Shakira last week teased the new official song for the World Cup, releasing a brief video of the track filmed at Brazil’s iconic Maracana Stadium.

In the 67-second video, Shakira appears on the pitch at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, where she performed in a free concert at the city’s Copacabana Beach before two million people.

Holding the “Trionda”, the official match ball of the 2026 World Cup, Shakira performed excerpts of the song in English, joined by dancers dressed in the colors of teams including the United States and Colombia.

The song was produced with Nigerian artist Burna Boy and is set for official release on Thursday. The clip, also shared by the FIFA World Cup account, ends with the message: “We’re ready!”

Shakira has a long association with the World Cup, performing at the 2006 and 2014 World Cup finals in addition to producing “Waka Waka” for the 2010 tournament.

AFP

Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has questioned the credibility of former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term if elected president.

Onanuga referenced Obi’s political history, alleging that the former Anambra State governor had previously pledged loyalty to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, before later leaving the party.

The presidential aide further alleged that Obi had moved across different political platforms over the years.

In a post on his X handle, Onanuga said “If you believe Peter Obi’s promise to serve only one term as president, you’ll believe anything.

“Consider his record: while in APGA, he famously placed himself under a self-curse, vowing never to leave the party that made him governor. He gave his word to the Ikemba, even on his deathbed, swearing loyalty and fidelity to APGA.

“By his own actions, Peter Obi has shown that his word cannot be trusted. His promises are as fleeting as his political allegiances.”

Obi had last week defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, alongside Rabiu Kwankwaso from the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

They are expected to hold a joint ticket on the NDC platform, with Kwankwaso as Obi’s running mate.

During its National Convention held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on May 9, the NDC zoned its presidential ticket to the South.

It said this is for a single term and that it would return to the North in 2031.

Observers see this move as an effort by the party to convince the North that Obi’s one term pledge would stand.

Two officers of the Nigeria Customs Service have been killed in a confrontation with suspected Lakurawa terrorists in Kebbi State.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, who disclosed this, said the incident happened on Wednesday morning.

The slain operatives identified as Assistant Superintendent of Customs Bamigboye and Deputy Superintendent of Customs Dom, were said to have died during a counter-offensive operation against the armed group around 3am.

Adeniyi disclosed the development in Ilorin while delivering a keynote address at the fourth biennial international conference organised by the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin

The attackers reportedly invaded two security checkpoints in the Bagudu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

A source, familiar with the incident, said the gunmen attacked two checkpoints that are very close to each other. They shot one officer, while they burnt the three-star officer alive.

The Customs chief described the incident as deeply painful, noting that operatives of the service have continued to play frontline roles in security operations alongside the military.

“This morning, two officers of the Nigeria Customs Service paid the supreme sacrifice while warding off threats from Lakurawa terrorists in Kebbi.

“Apart from the military, the Nigeria Customs Service remains the last shield in several of these border communities,” Adeniyi said.

He, however, assured that the deaths of the officers would not weaken the resolve of the service in confronting criminal networks operating around Nigeria’s borders.

Speaking on the conference theme, “Disruptive Technology: Human and Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Economy,” Adeniyi said the deployment of Artificial Intelligence-driven risk management tools by the Customs Service had significantly reduced corruption and improved operational efficiency.

He said portraying Artificial Intelligence as a replacement for human capacity was misleading, stressing that human judgment and leadership remain critical in technological deployment.