Chris Martin announces team for World Cup half-time show

British rock band Coldplay's Chris Martin gets in the frame with some animated favourites to announce the first Super Bowl-style half-time show at the final of this year's football World Cup. Madonna, Shakira and BTS - which is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan or 'Beyond the Scene', a wildly popular South Korean boy band - will co-headline the show at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19. Curated by Chris Martin and produced by Global Citizen, the show will raise funds for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, says the football association FIFA, "improving access to quality education and football for children around the world". So, what's not to like? How could this ad possibly be in the Controversial section? Well, the targeting of children/youngsters doesn't sit well with some, while others are grumbling about the 'Americanisation' of football (soccer) - apparently there's not too much appetite for the game in a nation dedicated to baseball, US football, and basketball, but it's a huge money-spinner / growth sector..... Just for example, the 2022 Super Bowl final viewership was put at 125 million, while the World Cup of that years averaged a live audience of 571 million viewers. Go figure, as they say.

Keywords: Madonna, Shakira & BTS to co-headline FIFA World Cup 2026™ Final Halftime Show, Chris Martin FIFA, football