Madonna, Burna Boy, Coldplay and a 30-minute half-time: FIFA’s Super Bowl ambitions break football’s own rules

FIFA is pushing ahead with a Super Bowl-style half-time show at Sunday’s World Cup final featuring Madonna, Burna Boy, Shakira, BTS, Coldplay and Justin Bieber that could stretch the interval to 30 minutes — directly breaching football’s own Laws of the Game, which cap any match break at 15 minutes, according to The Telegraph.

FIFA wants its own Super Bowl moment. Football’s rulebook is apparently optional.

The Punch reports that the half-time break at Sunday’s World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey could stretch to a staggering 30 minutes — combining an 11-minute performance segment with broadcasters’ standard 15-minute pundit analysis, and potentially pushing well beyond that — as FIFA pursues a Super Bowl-scale spectacle in direct contradiction of the Laws of the Game, which explicitly cap match intervals at 15 minutes.

This isn’t FIFA’s first offence. The governing body already exceeded its own rules at last year’s Club World Cup, when half-time ran for 25 minutes. Sunday’s final is expected to go even longer, potentially making it the longest showpiece final in World Cup history.

The half-time lineup reads more like a global music festival than a football match intermission. Performers confirmed for MetLife Stadium include Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus alongside Coldplay.

The entertainment begins well before kick-off. A closing ceremony featuring Robbie Williams, Tom Cruise and Nicole Scherzinger is scheduled approximately 90 minutes before the 8pm start.

Broadcasters BBC and ITV are already preparing for the extended break, adjusting their production schedules accordingly.

The Telegraph also flagged that three-minute hydration breaks built into each half have attracted suspicion in some quarters as a potential vehicle for additional advertising inventory — raising broader questions about the commercial forces reshaping football’s most watched event.

FIFA has not publicly acknowledged that the planned interval violates its own regulations, nor has it explained how the extended break will be formally accommodated within the sport’s existing legal framework.

Sunday’s final promises to be as much a entertainment event as a football match, with the game itself now sharing top billing with one of the most star-studded half-time shows ever assembled.