Colombian pop icon Shakira has unveiled the first teaser of “Dai Dai,” the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2026, revealing a high‑energy collaboration with Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy that signals FIFA’s most explicit embrace yet of Africa’s dominant new sound. The one‑minute clip, filmed inside Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium and posted on Shakira’s social channels, offers a first listen to a reggaetón‑tinged Afrobeats track built around lyrics of resilience and belonging, and instantly revives memories of her era‑defining 2010 anthem “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).”
A one‑minute teaser from Maracanã
In the teaser posted Thursday, Shakira strides onto the pitch at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, flanked by dancers in vivid colors and holding the “Trionda”, the official match ball for World Cup 2026.
Over a brisk, drum‑driven beat, she sings in English:
“Here in this place / You belong
What broke you once / Made you strong.”
A male voice — credited in reports as Burna Boy’s — harmonizes on the hook, giving a first glimpse of how their vocal styles will intertwine. The clip, shared as a joint post with the official FIFA World Cup account and Global Citizen, ends with a sweeping aerial shot of Maracanã and the words “We are ready.”
ESPN reports that “Dai Dai” will be released in full on May 14, just under a month before the tournament kicks off in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Shakira’s return as “Queen of World Cup music”
For Shakira, 49, “Dai Dai” marks a return to a stage she has helped define.
- In 2010, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” became the official song of the South Africa World Cup, topping charts in more than 15 countries and becoming one of the most streamed football anthems of all time.
- She followed it with “La La La (Brazil 2014)”, a secondary theme for the 2014 World Cup, which she performed at the closing ceremony in Rio.
Billboard notes that, with “Dai Dai,” Shakira “remains the Queen of World Cup Music,” pointing out that “Waka Waka” dominated Latin charts, including 42 weeks at No. 1 on Latin Digital Song Sales, and cemented her association with FIFA’s biggest stage.
This latest project arrives on the heels of a massive free concert for more than two million people on Copacabana Beach and the announcement of new U.S. dates for her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” tour, underscoring how she is using the World Cup to amplify an already resurgent global profile.
Afrobeats at the center of the global game
If Shakira’s presence provides continuity, her choice of collaborator reflects a shifting musical center of gravity.
Burna Boy, one of Afrobeats’ biggest international stars, brings the sound that has dominated African and diaspora charts into FIFA’s flagship anthem for the first time.
German broadcaster DW describes “Dai Dai” as “a reggaetón‑tinged Afrobeats song that perfectly blends both Shakira and Burna’s musical worlds,” with syncopated percussion and call‑and‑response melodies that echo stadium chants. Billboard adds that the track “melds Shak’s signature Latin pop with Burna Boy’s Afrofusion sensibility,” signaling FIFA’s bet that an African sound can be the default soundtrack for a tournament hosted in North America.
The pairing continues a trend: Burna Boy performed during last year’s UEFA Champions League final entertainment program, while Afrobeats artists such as Davido, Rema and Tems have featured prominently in recent sporting ceremonies. ABC News notes that by explicitly billing Burna Boy as co‑star of the official anthem, FIFA is acknowledging Afrobeats’ status as “a global pop powerhouse, not just a regional scene.”
A song of resilience for a three‑nation World Cup
The choice of lyrics and imagery hints at what “Dai Dai” aims to represent for a World Cup spread across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Lines like “Here in this place / You belong” and “What broke you once / Made you strong” evoke themes of migration, adversity and renewal that resonate in North America’s immigrant societies and in the football world after a pandemic‑disrupted cycle. With Shakira singing in English and, according to early reports, additional Spanish and possibly African‑language phrases in the full version, the track seems designed as a multi‑lingual stadium chant as much as a radio single.
ESPN and the BBC both emphasize that “Dai Dai” is positioned as the official FIFA anthem, distinct from other branded music projects tied to sponsors. ABC points out that it should not be confused with Coca‑Cola’s World Cup campaign song, a reimagining of Van Halen’s “Jump” featuring J Balvin, Amber Mark, Travis Barker and guitarist Steve Vai.
That split underscores how central the official anthem remains to FIFA’s own branding: the song that gets played in official broadcasts, ceremonies and highlight packages from June’s opening match onward.
Marketing build‑up: from teaser to tournament
The timing of the teaser, just over a month before the opening game in Mexico City on June 11, fits FIFA’s familiar staggered rollout pattern.
According to US outlets, the plan looks roughly as follows:
- Teaser clip from Maracanã shared on Shakira’s and FIFA’s social channels in early May.
- Full audio and video release of “Dai Dai” on May 14, with parallel promotion through Global Citizen and tournament partners.
- Integration into official broadcast packages, stadium entertainment and likely a live performance at either the opening ceremony in Mexico City, the final in New Jersey, or both, though FIFA has yet to confirm details.
Dallas‑based outlets and World Cup fan accounts in the U.S. have already been circulating the May 14 release date, stoking anticipation in host cities that see the anthem as a key part of the tournament’s cultural footprint.
A new benchmark for World Cup music?
With “Dai Dai,” FIFA is implicitly chasing the rare combination that “Waka Waka” achieved: global chart success, stadium utility and cultural staying power.
- Music press point out several factors in its favor:
- Shakira’s proven track record with World Cup audiences.
- Burna Boy’s crossover appeal in Africa, Europe, and North America.
A sound that sits at the intersection of three of the most dominant genres in global streaming, Latin pop, reggaetón and Afrobeats.
Whether “Dai Dai” will join the short list of World Cup songs that outlive their tournament, from “Waka Waka” to Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de la Vida”, will depend on how it lands with fans far from the Maracanã set where its story begins.
For now, the early signs are clear: in a North American World Cup that FIFA hopes will be its most watched edition ever, the organization has turned once again to a familiar face, and, this time, to Afrobeats, to give the global game its soundtrack.
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