There's backlash against the World Cup final's halftime show. Is it attacking tradition or just a good show?

Ben christian church couldn’t be to a lesser extent surprised by a Super Bowl-esque halftime present in the FIFA domain transfuse 2026 final.

For the first time, the Beautiful Game’s ultimate match won’t just be headlined by the soccer superstars, but also by a halftime musical performance — and it's ruffling some feathers.

"Nobody asked for a half time show. Nobody wants it. If it's precisely 15 minutes then maybe it could work, but all of us know that's not going to happen," said one Reddit commenter in response to news the show might stretch the halftime to longer than the traditional 15 minutes.

In another Reddit thread, other fans complained about perceived "Yankeefication" of the sport, with one commenter jokingly suggesting FIFA add a "WWE mini-royal rumble" to the halftime festivities.

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The July 19 show will feature international singing talents such as Madonna, Shakira and BTS, as well as the Muppets.

FIFA is marketing this halftime show as a “landmark moment” in which “the greatest show on earth reaches its pinnacle.” 

But some broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV may even skip airing the halftime festivities in favour of more traditional punditry and analysis, according to reporting by the Times. 

Church says efforts by governing bodies to get as much bang for their buck are making longtime fans feel their interests are being pushed to the side by the sport they grew up loving.

“They're getting frustrated that they contributed to making this such a global sport, but now they've been left behind because people want to make a bit of money when they can,” he said.

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Soccer is an old sport. The first official laws of the game were drafted in 1863, several teams such as FC Barcelona are more than 100 years old and the first FIFA World Cup was played in 1930. 

Traditions are likely to be held dear by some soccer fans because of that, according to University of Toronto's Paul Cohen.

“Las Vegas did not have a hockey team when I was a kid,” said Cohen, who teaches the course Soccer: The History of the World’s Game. 

“It does now, so what does tradition mean in the kind of closed, franchised, organized league ecosystem of professional sports in North America?”

Some professional soccer leagues existed before the birth of television, but still, soccer maintained its form and its values “well into the television age,” according to Cohen.

This long history means generations of fans have built a deep, personal connection with soccer and its traditions.

“I think there is something about history, about keeping a memory alive, that is vital in many forms of fandom,” Cohen said.

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Although Church doesn’t consider the halftime show the “end of the world,” he says the cynic inside of him sees this as another commercial aspect getting added to a sport that doesn’t need razzmatazz.

“I actually don't think this is the big thing. This is just another thing to add to a growing list of things that football fans … are sort of getting a bit exhausted by,” he said.

Cohen says soccer’s relationship with tradition can be quite paradoxical.

“It's a sport where fans do talk a lot about history and tradition,” he said. “But like any group that talks a lot about history [and] tradition, it's selective and it's mutable and it depends on the context.”

One example Cohen mentions is Arsenal’s stadium move.

From 1913 to 2006, the English club played at Arsenal Stadium, also known as Highbury. But during legendary manager Arsène Wenger’s tenure, it was determined that Highbury was too small and didn’t have the capacity for amenities like skyboxes, restaurants and bars.

So the club built and moved into the Emirates Stadium, one of the U.K.’s largest soccer stadiums at the time of its opening.

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People were upset at the time of the move, but Cohen says, these days, “I don't hear a lot of longing for Highbury.”

Other Premier League clubs have followed suit since Arsenal’s move, with the likes of Tottenham, West Ham United and Everton all moving into more luxurious, state-of-the-art homes since 2006.

Although July 19 will see the first halftime show in World Cup final history, it won’t be the first time a major soccer final will have a big musical performance during its break.

The Copa America 2024 and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 final — both hosted in the U.S. — featured halftime performances.

Those performances weren’t without controversy. Colombia’s coach Néstor Lorenzo was critical when South American soccer body CONMEBOL extended halftime from a traditional 15 minutes to 25 minutes to accommodate Shakira’s performance in the Copa America 2024 final.

According to the Guardian, World Cup television rights holders are also growing increasingly frustrated by FIFA’s silence on the length of the 2026 World Cup final’s halftime. 

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That’s where Church draws a red line. Although he doesn't expect halftime to be longer than 15 minutes, he says a longer break period would change the game in a way players are not accustomed to.

"It will be very different to every other game of the World Cup," he said. "Players would have to be out of action for longer; it might increase injury."

Church says he’ll watch the halftime show — and he understands why others will tune in, too.

“It's the same when it comes to the Super Bowl, right? People complain about who the halftime performer is, and then most of the world watches it anyway because, ultimately, it’s going to be a good show,” he said. 

Journalist

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