Shakira and Burna Boy have released the official music video for “Dai Dai,” the anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, delivering a stadium‑ready blend of Latin pop and Afrobeats as global football’s showpiece heads to North America. The clip, which dropped online ahead of next month’s kickoff, features cameos and messages from stars including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Bukayo Saka and Erling Haaland, and is already spreading rapidly across social platforms as the tournament’s unofficial countdown clock.
The official anthem arrives
The official “Dai Dai” music video went live on major platforms on May 22, following days of teasers from Shakira, Burna Boy, and FIFA’s social channels. A trailer posted on Instagram promised “Official Video for the Official @fifaworldcup 2026 song out tomorrow, 12pm ET,” fuelling anticipation among fans who had already embraced the audio release earlier in the month.
Bleacher Report described the release as “the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” noting that Shakira and Burna Boy “dropped the music video for ‘Dai Dai’ ahead of next month’s festivities,” as the expanded 48‑team tournament prepares to open in venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The video upload on YouTube is branded as a FIFA World Cup 2026 music video, underlining its role as the central soundtrack to this edition of the competition.
For Shakira, “Dai Dai” marks a return to a stage she helped define: her 2010 hit “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” became a global earworm and remains one of the most recognizable World Cup songs in history. “This marks the second time that Shakira is the artist behind the official song for the World Cup,” Bleacher Report notes, pointing to a deliberate move by FIFA to tap into nostalgia while leaning into newer sounds.
A global cast: Shakira, Burna Boy and football’s biggest names
“Dai Dai” pairs Colombian superstar Shakira with Nigerian Grammy winner Burna Boy, placing two of the world’s most recognizable cross‑over artists at the centre of FIFA’s musical strategy. A lyric video shared earlier in the week billed the track as “Shakira & Burna Boy – Dai Dai (Lyrics) World Cup Song 2026,” positioning the collaboration as a core part of the tournament’s identity.
The music video itself plays like a highlight reel of contemporary football. According to Bleacher Report, the clip includes messages or appearances from Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Bukayo Saka and Erling Haaland, among others, weaving the sport’s biggest modern icons into a patchwork of fan celebrations and stadium imagery. A viral TikTok edit featuring Shakira performing “Dai Dai” with World Cup footage under the tagline “We Are Ready World Cup 2026 X ‘Dai Dai’” has already begun circulating among supporters.
Broadcast coverage of the song’s debut emphasized the scale of its ambitions. One entertainment segment introduced the track by saying “we’re starting with brand new music from Shakira, the Grammy winner dropping the official anthem for this year’s World Cup,” before cutting to the video with the host declaring, “The track is called ‘Dai Dai’. Take a look.”
Sound and message: Latin pop meets Afrobeats with a cause
Musically, “Dai Dai” leans into an uptempo blend of Shakira’s signature Latin pop sensibilities and Burna Boy’s Afrobeats groove, designed for both TV montages and stadium sing‑alongs. Early fan reaction on Reddit’s r/soccer community has focused on the song’s catchy hook and rhythmic drive, with some users saying they will “wait for the full song to enjoy this one” while others debate how it stacks up against “Waka Waka” and other past anthems.
The song also carries a philanthropic undertone. A U.S. TV segment highlighted that “the new song which also features Burna Boy is released in support of [the] FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund,” an initiative aimed at raising 100 million dollars by the end of the tournament to improve access to education and football opportunities for children worldwide. This aligns “Dai Dai” with recent trends of major sporting events tying their official music to social‑impact campaigns.
In the clip, Shakira dances in football‑themed settings while Burna Boy injects his trademark swagger, with both artists leaning into universal themes of unity, resilience, and celebration, a familiar but effective formula for World Cup music. Snippets of the lyrics shared via lyric videos and short‑form edits emphasize movement (“dai dai” functions as a call‑and‑response chant) and collective energy, echoing stadium chants that organizers hope fans will adopt.
From Maracanã tease to global rollout
The road to the video’s release has been carefully choreographed across platforms. Earlier this month, a Facebook video from Maracanã Stadium, the Rio de Janeiro venue synonymous with World Cup history, teased the track with the caption: “From Maracaná Stadium, here is ‘Dai Dai,’ the FIFA World Cup Official Song 2026. Coming 5/14. We’re ready!” The clip showed Shakira addressing fans from the iconic venue, helping link the upcoming North American tournament to football’s storied past.
On Instagram, Burna Boy amplified the message, posting a reel that read: “Who’s ready? Official Video for the Official @fifaworldcup 2026 song out tomorrow, 12pm ET,” alongside football emojis and tags for Shakira and FIFA. Comment sections quickly filled with fans hailing the cross‑continental pairing and predicting another World Cup hit.
By the time the full video hit YouTube, fan‑made edits, lyric clips and reaction videos were already circulating. One channel uploaded “Shakira – Dai-Dai (Music Video) FiFA WORLD CUP 2026,” reinforcing the FIFA branding, while others focused on the audio, with “Shakira & Burna Boy – Dai Dai (Lyrics) World Cup Song 2026” catering to users who want to learn the words before the opening match.
Reception from fans and the football community
Initial reaction online has been distinctly World Cup‑like: enthusiastic, divided and loud. On Reddit’s r/soccer, fans praised the energy of the track and the Shakira–Burna Boy collaboration, while others expressed nostalgia for earlier anthems and asked for more local representation from host nations. The debate mirrors past cycles, where “Waka Waka,” “We Are One” and “The Cup of Life” all faced early scepticism before becoming staples of tournament highlight reels.
Sports media outlets have largely welcomed the song. Bleacher Report’s write‑up framed “Dai Dai” as a worthy successor to “Waka Waka,” noting Shakira’s return and Burna Boy’s global appeal, and highlighting the cameo‑packed video as “a signal that football’s biggest stars are already in promotional mode.” TikTok clips pairing match footage with the chorus, under hashtags such as #FIFA2026, #DaiDai and #WorldCupAnthem, are gaining traction, suggesting the song is already embedding itself into fan culture.
A morning entertainment show anchor summed up the mood during the TV debut: “Music never lies, and my hips don’t lie either… we’re starting with brand new music from Shakira… a little bit of a vibe going on in here,” before noting the charitable angle and the target to raise 100 million dollars for education and soccer access.
A soundtrack for a three‑nation World Cup
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams and the first to be co‑hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, expanding the tournament’s geographic and cultural footprint. In that context, “Dai Dai” functions as both a unifying anthem and a nod to the global nature of modern football fandom: a Colombian star with a deep World Cup legacy, a Nigerian artist at the forefront of Afrobeats’ global rise, and a video mosaic of players and supporters from multiple continents.
With the official video now out, FIFA and broadcasters are expected to weave “Dai Dai” into match coverage, promotional spots, opening ceremony plans and fan‑zone performances from now until the final whistle. For millions of viewers, the song’s hook will become inseparable from images of packed stadiums, dramatic goals, and emotional national anthems, precisely the kind of cultural imprint an official World Cup song is designed to leave.
As the countdown to kick‑off accelerates, “Dai Dai” has taken its place in the World Cup’s long catalogue of soundtracks, aiming to move from a new upload on fans’ feeds to the chorus they hum long after the trophy has been lifted.
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