If there is one thing the World Cup does almost as well as the football itself, it is the music, and the 2026 tournament just got a very serious upgrade. Colombian pop star Shakira has been confirmed to perform her official song for the competition at the opening ceremony in Mexico, and honestly, it feels like the most natural booking imaginable.
Shakira and the World Cup go together like a last-minute winner and absolute pandemonium in the stands. She performed Waka Waka at the 2010 tournament in South Africa, and that song became so deeply embedded in football culture that even people who have never watched a match in their lives know every word. The hips do not lie, and neither does her track record on the biggest stages.
The 2026 World Cup is already shaping up to be a massive occasion. Spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, it will be the first tournament to feature 48 teams, meaning more football, more drama and inevitably more chaos in the group stages. Having Shakira open proceedings in Mexico City is a genuinely inspired decision by FIFA, who do not always get things right but have absolutely nailed this one.
There is something quite wonderful about the fact that a Colombian artist is fronting the tournament when Colombia themselves will be desperate to make a real impression on the pitch. Carlos Ancerlotti has taken over the national side, and expectations are high. Shakira performing the opening song while her home nation competes for glory is the kind of storyline that writes itself.
For football fans, the opening ceremony is usually something you tolerate before the actual football starts, but this announcement makes it feel like a genuine event worth tuning in for early. She has done this before, she knows the scale of it, and if the song is anywhere near as catchy as Waka Waka then we are all going to be hearing it in supermarkets until at least 2029.
All in all, a brilliant piece of news ahead of what should be a fantastic tournament. Let me know your thoughts.