The Club World Cup entertainment sideshow: Doja Cat, Robbie Williams and a foretaste of 2026

New York Times

8 hours ago

Colombian singer J Balvin sat on the edge of what felt like the world's tallest stage as his song Mi Gente blared through the speakers for 81,118 spectators at the MetLife Stadium. FIFA's first-ever halftime show was officially underway, in all its chaotic and unapologetic glory.
The grand finale of the Club World Cup on Sunday — the culmination of a month-long affair — saw Chelsea upend Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in a thrashing that, with head coach Enzo Maresca saying after the match that it was over 'in the first 10 minutes.' The team that felt unbeatable all year long was strategically undone.
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Despite all that happened on the pitch, including Joao Neves' hair pull or Luis Enrique's emotional outburst, one of the main takeaways from the final was the surrounding fanfare: the military flyover, the pre-game celebration and, yes, the president of the United States crashing Chelsea's trophy lift.
It's safe to assume most of what we saw at MetLife will be similar to what FIFA, the sport's global governing body, has in store for next year, when the 2026 World Cup finally kicks off across the U.S., Mexico and Canada after nearly a decade of anticipation. That will include a halftime show for the first time ever at the World Cup.
As perhaps a preview for what to expect, the Club World Cup halftime show, which co-starred J Balvin, Doja Cat, Tems and surprise guests Coldplay with Emmanuel Kelly, lasted just under 11 minutes.
On television, it was an attractive ensemble of performers with the New York City skyline as a backdrop, juxtaposed with the American Dream mega mall and its Ferris wheel.
In person, however, the show wasn't so polished. The stage, as impressive a feat as it was to create, felt too far away. From across the stadium, it was hard to see with the naked eye that Coldplay was on stage with Kelly. It was also hard to ignore the sprinklers dousing the pitch before the second half, employees scrambling to do some quick maintenance, and the steady stream of fans leaving their seats for the concourse mid-performance.
Like a lot of the Club World Cup, the halftime show felt made for TV rather than those in the stadium.
That's not to say the halftime show was not entertaining. It was. It also seems to have accomplished exactly what FIFA intended: it gave viewers and fans in the stadium entertainment, albeit brief, as FIFA took a page from the NFL and American sports' entertainment playbook. FIFA even announced that Panini America, a collectibles company and one of FIFA's longstanding sponsors, was a late 'partner' for the halftime show just one and a half hours before kickoff. While it's a far cry from the profitability and success of the NFL's Super Bowl halftime show, for FIFA, it seems a small step toward that goal.
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The halftime show was only part of the entertainment FIFA delivered at the final, in its attempts to assimilate with American professional sports culture.
The match was prefaced with a 20-minute intro: a performance of FIFA's official anthem Desire by Robbie Williams and Laura Pausini; American announcer Michael Buffer yelling his iconic line 'Let's get ready to rumble!'; and a tribute to America that included the singing of the national anthem, pyrotechnics and a military flyover. There was also a giant, inflatable replica of the Club World Cup trophy pushed around the pitch.
Expect things to be even more over-the-top next year at the World Cup.
At Sunday's final, On Location, the official hospitality provider of the 2026 World Cup, gave journalists a sample of the kind of extra experiences they will offer fans next year. The preview started with a tour of the pitch then a chance to sit and take photos from PSG's bench a few hours before the team would be there themselves.
On Location president Paul Caine said experiences like these are just an example of what they and FIFA have planned for fans in 2026. 'We're not just selling tickets. We're selling experiences,' Caine said. Heimo Schirgi, COO for FIFA World Cup 26, said, 'We're transforming from a sports governing body into an entertainment company, and also an experiential company.'
On Monday, On Location released hospitality packages for all 16 stadiums in the 2026 World Cup, with prices for single-match options starting at $1,350 per person. An 18-person suite, like the one On Location staged at the Club World Cup final, had a balcony area that directly faced the center of the pitch, with a prime view of the halftime show.
The halftime show at the Club World Cup was hosted in the rafters rather than the pitch, which eliminated the need to set up and dismantle a stage on the pitch, as is generally done during Super Bowls. Though even with the show happening in the rafters, the halftime still lasted over 20 minutes. FIFA rules cap halftime at 15 minutes.
Despite the new experiences for soccer fans, the halftime show did bring to mind a previous FIFA event, the 2023 Women's World Cup in Sydney, where organizers blasted Coldplay's Sky Full of Stars during halftimes. As the music played, fans shone their cellphone lights and there would be light shows inside the venues that went with the music.
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On Sunday, the voices of Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin, who curated the halftime show, and Kelly echoed through MetLife Stadium in a similar way – but instead of a light show, fans had daytime fireworks and a stage that changed colors to the music. In FIFA's own way, it felt like a slice of its authentic identity hidden between everything else it tried to do.