Fifa’s plans for half-time show at World Cup final a star-spangled monstrosity - Iqraa news

Whenever football wraps itself in the red, white and blue, forsaking any dignity for some shameless American razzle-dazzle – as Fifa are planning with a helping hand from Coldplay, the ensuing horror lends itself to instant folklore.

Diana Ross’s abortive penalty at the 1994 World Cup, shanked so wildly it might as well have been a pass to the corner flag, lives on as the ultimate example of how not to conduct an opening ceremony. But that is perhaps only because we were spared the spectacle of Oprah Winfrey trying to pronounce the name of then president Joao Havelange, which she reputedly mangled so memorably in practice that her handlers decided it was best not to bother.

Now, undeterred, Fifa intends to up the ante for next summer’s World Cup final in New Jersey, designing what sounds like a shamelessly derivative take on the Super Bowl half-time show.

“A show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world,” promises president Gianni Infantino, who has told sponsors to expect multiple acts, all carefully curated by Coldplay.

At no point does he address the glaring unanswered question of how this gaudy shebang can possibly be shoehorned into 15 minutes. Even the musical element of the average Super Bowl production lasts this long with a single headliner. Adding all the rigmarole of setting up and dismantling stages and lighting rigs, the average interval time is more like half an hour.

Unlike in gridiron, half-time in football does not exist as some moveable feast. Its 15-minute duration is codified by the International Football Association Board’s laws of the game, with an emphasis that it must not be exceeded. But even this universally observed window – the optimum period for players to rest their muscles, for coaches to impart their wisdom, and for the flow of the match not to be disrupted – can apparently be tweaked when Fifa has the scent of stardust.

The custodians of the global game have already shown they care little for its sanctity: Infantino, do not forget, allowed Inter Miami into this year’s Club World Cup, despite the Florida side being eliminated in the play-offs for the MLS Cup.

Of far greater importance, evidently, are the TV deals sweetened by the certain presence of Miami’s Lionel Messi. If even the qualification system is ripe for manipulation when convenient, why not the very match-day structure itself?

It is unfortunate that Coldplay wish to be involved in this latest monument to Fifa’s folie de grandeur. When the suits in Zurich come calling, the best advice for any artists who have reached the summit of their profession is to run a mile.

Take the actor Tim Roth, for example. In 2014, he still basked in kudos as an Oscar-nominated star who had caught the eye of Quentin Tarantino. Then he took the single worst decision of his career, agreeing to play Sepp Blatter in United Passions, Fifa’s absurd piece of big-screen self-idolatry.

The film cost £25 million to make and yet grossed a grand total of £248 on its opening weekend in 10 American cinemas. It holds an unrivalled rating of zero per cent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. “This is a role,” a mortified Roth later declared, “that will have my father turning in his grave.”

So yes, good luck Coldplay. For a band at the peak of its powers to do Fifa’s bidding is an exercise fraught with danger. Just ask Robbie Williams, who was pilloried for his decision to perform at the 2018 World Cup opening in Moscow in front of Vladimir Putin. What better platform to belt out Angels than at Russia versus Saudi Arabia for the glorification of a bloodthirsty tyrant?

Bill Browder, head of the Magnitsky justice campaign set up to impose visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers, said: “There are lots of ways to make money, Robbie Williams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them. Shame on you.”

We are meant to feel reassured, I suppose, that Fifa is working on its 2026 half-time jamboree with Global Citizen, an advocacy body that seeks to end extreme poverty. The trouble is that the combination of Chris Martin and the tokenistic promotion of worthy causes has been the subject of parody for at least 20 years.

Ricky Gervais structured an entire episode of Extras around it, with a self-mocking Martin muttering to producers: “Can we get on with this? I’ve got to do AIDS and Alzheimer’s and landmines this afternoon.”

Forgive me, then, for not being overjoyed at the prospect of Coldplay hitching their sail in the United States to the Fifa mast. This threatens to be less the “incredible” theatre of Infantino’s dreams than a star-spangled monstrosity.

World Cup final to have Super Bowl-style half-time – with help from Coldplay

Fifa has teamed up with Coldplay’s Chris Martin and his management to produce the first half-time show at a World Cup final, Gianni Infantino has announced.

Details of the Super Bowl-style performance being organised for football’s biggest match, in America next summer, were revealed during a convention for the 2026 World Cup’s commercial and media partners in Dallas.

Coldplay will not perform but will instead help finalise the list of artists who will do so during the show at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium and in what Fifa president Infantino said would be a Times Square “take-over” during the World Cup final and third-place play-off.

The governing body has been working on the half-time show with Global Citizen, an international advocacy organisation which aims to end extreme poverty.

For a Super Bowl half-time show, half an hour is usually set aside for a performance of around 15 minutes, plus the assembly and removal of any staging.

In football, the Laws of the Game state half-time should not exceed more than 15 minutes, meaning a World Cup final show would need to be shorter than that unless the rule was relaxed before next summer’s tournament.

At the last World Cup, Chesney Hawkes performed during the interval of England’s group-stage win against Wales.

Infantino posted on Instagram: “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.”

Fifa first announced the show in September, with Infantino saying: “Fifa’s mission is to develop football in every corner of the world and to have a positive impact on society.

“Through this partnership, Fifa and Global Citizen will bring together the worlds of sport and entertainment to actively contribute to a better world. We are committing to a series of joint activities that will help promote access to football and engage fans of the sport in an effort to create positive change in their local communities.”