Nigerian Stars Shine at the World Cup

Nigeria's impact on global music has been clear at the FIFA World Cup, the biggest stage for football. TOFARATI IGE looks at Nigerian artists who have performed at this major football event.

One of the first Nigerian musicians to sing at a FIFA World Cup was Femi Kuti. The afrobeat star performed at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The event took place at Soccer City in Johannesburg and celebrated African culture with various famous African artists.

His performance was significant because the 2010 tournament was the first FIFA World Cup held in Africa. Femi was well received and celebrated for showcasing the continent’s rich culture through his music.

Another Nigerian star who took to the World Cup stage was Innocent Idibia, known as 2Baba. He performed during the closing ceremony of the 2010 World Cup final in Johannesburg. FIFA picked him as part of a special group of African artists to celebrate the end of this historic event.

His performance highlighted Nigeria’s strong presence in African entertainment.

Grammy Award winner, Damini Ogulu, known as Burna Boy, hit a new high when FIFA chose him to feature on ‘Dai Dai’, the official song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Colombian singer Shakira. They performed the song to loud cheers at the tournament's opening ceremony in Mexico City on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

This achievement places Burna Boy among the few Nigerian artists to contribute directly to a FIFA World Cup anthem.

Billboard, a popular music platform, reported that its readers picked ‘Dai Dai’ as the “best World Cup song of all time” in a poll.

The report stated, “In a poll published by Billboard on June 1, we asked our readers to vote for the best soccer anthem. The list included the 10 official songs released by FIFA since 1990 to today, from the first official song, “Un’estate italiana (To Be Number One),” performed by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini for the 1990 games in Italy to the most recent “Dai Dai” for the 2026 match.

“The latter (Dai Dai) ultimately won the poll with more than 31 percent of the vote. Shakira’s own “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” which she recorded with Freshlyground for the 2010 World Cup, came in a very close second with more than 26 percent of the vote.”

Afrobeats star, Divine Ikubor, known as Rema, performed at the United States' opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, June 12. He joined global stars like Katty Perry and South Africa’s Tyla.

Before the tournament, FIFA had released a World Cup-themed song featuring Rema, BLACKPINK’s Lisa, and Brazilian singer Anitta.

His inclusion shows the growing popularity of Nigerian music and afrobeats worldwide.

Pop star David Adeleke, popularly called Davido, drew global attention for his performance and his unique outfit at the World Cup Countdown Concert in Los Angeles, United States.

His outfit had the names of pupils and teachers kidnapped in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Davido turned his highly awaited pre-tournament performance into a call for action, highlighting the security issues in Nigeria. He demanded that the government act quickly for the victims still missing.

The buttons on his outfit displayed the names of the students and teachers recently taken by armed gangs. The names of those still missing were in white lettering on green buttons, while the names of those who lost their lives were in red.

He also wore a white t-shirt with “NIGERIA” written on it and “BRING THEM HOME” on the back of his black leather jacket.

Just before he took the stage, Davido spoke about the rescue operations and urged the federal and state governments to act fast.

Davido said, “Peace and love everywhere. May God be with the families of the abducted and the ones who have been killed.

“They still haven’t been rescued, we’re praying to God every day. We’re also praying to God that the government hastens, and you know… My country is going through a lot. We represent everywhere we go.”

Before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Davido was also part of the official soundtrack called ‘Hayya Hayya (Better Together)’ with Trinidad Cardona and Aisha.

This track became one of the most well-known songs linked to the tournament and marked a key moment for Nigerian music.

Following the success of that song, Davido performed at the closing ceremony of the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium. This performance came just months after the heartbreaking loss of his first son, Ifeanyi, and was seen as an emotional comeback to the global stage.