"We're witnessing history" — Netizens react to Doja Cat, Tems & J Balvin performing at first ever FIFA World Cup Final halftime show
FIFA and Global Citizen announced on Monday, June 9, that the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup Halftime Show will be headlined by Doja Cat, Tems, and J Balvin. The event is scheduled to take place on July 13 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin was reportedly the one to curate the lineup.
According to Billboard, the program was supposed to benefit the FIFA Global Citizen’s Education Fund, launched in April 2025.
The latest announcement has gained massive traction on social media platforms. Fans of Doja Cat, Tems, and J Balvin have been showing excitement about the news. One user wrote on X:
"World cup finale and doja on stage? oh we’re witnessing history."
Fans continued to react to the announcement on X.
"This gonna be better than the Super Bowl," another user tweeted.
"FIFA said: bring the heat on the pitch and the stage," added a tweet.
"Doja Cat. Let's go," exclaimed a fan.
Meanwhile, some netizens posed a separate mindset and thought that a different lineup would have been better. However, most of the comments showed that the fans were elated.
"no shade but they should've selected an A+ list artist," a fan commented.
"Taylor swift would be better," wrote another one.
"Tems is the only true artist on the lineup," read a tweet.
J Balvin and Tems react to the opportunity to headline FIFA World Cup Final halftime show
While fans seemed excited about the announcement made today, artists J Balvin and Tems also expressed their elation at the announcement. According to Billboard, Balvin said in a statement that it was an "honor" for him to headline such an event. Describing the moment as "historic," Balvin further added:
"From Medellín to MetLife — I'm honored to headline the first-ever halftime show of the FIFA Club World Cup final. It'm a historic moment — for me, for Latin culture and for every kid who dreams big."
Meanwhile, Tems also shared her reaction to this news. As reported by Billboard, in her statement she wrote that the artists were going to "bring the world together for a beautiful moment." She further made a reference to the initiative taken by the sports governing organization and Global Citizen.
In March 2025, President Gianni Infantino confirmed the involvement of Chris Martin and Coldplay manager Phil Harvey. While at that time Infantino did not confirm if Martin was supposed to perform, he clarified that the singer as well as Harvey would play a crucial role in selecting other artists.
On March 5, Infantino shared a post on Instagram, capturing moments of a FIFA conference in Dallas. In the caption of the post, Infantino wrote:
"I also want to thank Chris Martin and Phil Harvey of Coldplay, who will be working with us... to finalize the list of artists who will perform during the halftime show, as well as at Times Square."
The popular football competition is set to begin on June 14, 2025. 32 teams will be competing against each other to win the title. The halftime show will be aired live on July 13 in a free global broadcast on DAZN.com.
