The 2026 World Cup final will feature a first-ever half-time show, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced this week, bringing Super Bowl-style entertainment to football's biggest stage for the first time in the tournament's history. The show will take place during the interval of the final in New York/New Jersey, and Infantino promised it would be a historic moment befitting the biggest sporting event on the planet.

The announcement also revealed the involvement of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and the band's manager Phil Harvey, who will help put together the set of artists performing during the break. Neither the performers nor the length of the show have been confirmed yet, but for comparison, Super Bowl half-time productions typically last around 30 minutes to allow stages and equipment to be built and dismantled.

Infantino also revealed plans for a takeover of Times Square in New York City over the weekend of the final, though further details are yet to be announced. The double announcement underlines how FIFA is positioning the 2026 tournament as a global entertainment spectacle as much as a football competition, with the MetLife Stadium final set to be the centrepiece.

The move has divided opinion among supporters. Some fans are thrilled at the prospect of a world-class entertainment package to cap off a month of football, while traditionalists worry about changes to the rhythm of the biggest match in the sport and whether the break could stretch beyond the usual 15 minutes. The debate is already one of the liveliest talking points in the tournament build-up.

FIFA is no stranger to grand gestures, but a half-time show at a World Cup final is unprecedented in the men's game. It follows the governing body's push to grow the tournament's cultural footprint in the United States, where the Super Bowl halftime format is a television institution in its own right. The 48-team expansion has already made 2026 the biggest World Cup ever, and the entertainment plans match that scale.

With fan fever building across the host nation, the half-time announcement adds to the excitement sweeping America ahead of kick-off. All eyes will now be on which artists accept the invitation, and whether FIFA can stage a show worthy of both its football and its billing.