Sports247 has scooped that Nigerian Afrobeat’s icon, Burna Boy raked in a mammoth $1.45m for performing during half-time of this year’s FIFA World Cup, despite not getting any formal payment from the global football governing body, which reportedly arranged the show for charity.
However, despite the official report that FIFA did not directly pay any of the performers for the opening ceremony and half time show in the final, independent reports indicate that Burna Boy is smiling to the bank for his part in the competition’s theme song alongside Colombian damsel, Shakira.
Although the artiste, whose real name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, featured mostly as a back-up to Shakira in the tournament’s official anthem, ‘Dai Dai,’ his appearances during the opening ceremony and half time of the final gave him immense global followership that has brought for him a huge financial gain.
While American legend, Madonna is reportedly the highest earner among all performers during the first ever FIFA World Cup Half Time Show, for which Shakira got $2.5m, Burna Boy played a prominent role in the song, which combines Afrobeats with Latin pop and funk.
The song was created to celebrate global unity and it supported motives of the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund for children, following which an online report by Jvision Entertainment TV disclosed, “Burna Boy was paid a total $7m … 4m for his contribution in production of the song and 3m for his opening ceremony performance.”
However, Spanish publication, Marca reported that performers at the 2026 World Cup final half time show were not paid a performance fee by FIFA, as the global football body only covers production costs, staging and logistics, while the artistes perform without any formal financial payment.
An additional report by E.News indicated, “Global Citizen x FIFA – a charitable effort aimed at unlocking access to sports and education for children worldwide – confirmed that none of the artistes who performed at the FIFA World Cup Final half time show on July 19 were paid.
“Instead, the musicians were content to be a part of history, as they will be remembered for helping to introduce this American tradition to the world’s favourite sport (and) the artistes came together to deliver a truly global show.”
Global Citizen previously announced in a May 14th Instagram post: “A FIFA World Cup first, the Half Time Show supports the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, a landmark initiative working to raise $100m to expand access to quality education and football for children around the world.”
Nevertheless, a slightly contrasting angle was published by UK’s Sun tabloid, which wrote in part, “Shakira is estimated to have a massive payday from the World Cup – with the tournament and her many appearances triggering a massive surge in global music streams.
“Her performances opening and closing the event cemented her status as one of the biggest stars in the world. At the Closing Ceremony, she performed ‘Dai Dai’ with Burna Boy – the Fourth World Cup she’s performed at.”
Sports247 gathered further that, despite not getting paid officially by FIFA, Burna Boy is reaping huge rewards from royalties, media rights, streaming fees, content values and endorsements, with a total gain in the range of $1.45m … and still rising.
