Infantino Confirms Half-Time Show For 2026 FIFA World Cup Final

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the 2026 FIFA World Cup final will feature a half-time show like the Super Bowl.

It will be the first time in the history of the tournament that the half-time show will be introduced, adding glamour to football’s biggest competition.

The 2026 edition of the tournament will be the biggest with 48 national teams participating instead of the usual 32, and it will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America.

It will be the first World Cup since 2002 to be hosted by more than one nation.

Infantino confirmed the introduction of the half-time show in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

He wrote: “It was my pleasure to speak with friends and colleagues attending the FIFA World Cup 26: FIFA Commercial & Media Partners Convention in Dallas, where we discussed some very exciting plans for the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup in 2026.

“I can confirm the first ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York New Jersey, in association with Global Citizen. This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.

“We also spoke about how FIFA will take over Times Square for the final weekend of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, during both the bronze final match and final.

“These will be two incredible matches, featuring some of the best players in the world, and what better way to celebrate them than in the historic Times Square in New York City.

“My thanks of course to Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans and his incredible team, for helping us put together these amazing shows.

‘I also want to thank Chris Martin and Phil Harvey of Coldplay, who will be working with us at FIFA to finalise the list of artists who will perform during the half time show, as well as at Times Square.”

In addition to the 48 teams that will be gracing the historic tournament, 104 matches will take place across 16 host cities and three nations.

Canada will host 13 matches – seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto – while 13 games will take place in Mexico, across Mexico City (five) Guadalajara (four) and Monterrey (four).

The teams will be split into 12 groups of 4 teams, with the top 2 of each group, and the 8 best third-placed teams progressing to a new round of 32, as approved by the FIFA Council on March 14, 2023.

This is set to be the first expansion and format change since 1998.

Infantino Confirms Half-Time Show For 2026 FIFA World Cup Final is first published on The Whistler Newspaper