For decades, the World Cup has always maintained its position as the biggest sporting event on the planet. However, in the face of rapid changes in the media consumption habits of the younger generation, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is facing a problem of how to keep this football festival attractive?
The 2026 World Cup is facing many major challenges. The wave of controversy surrounding the visa policy of the host country the United States, along with the application of flexible ticket price mechanisms, has led to hundreds of thousands of tickets still not finding their owners right before the tournament.
Amidst that context, the strategy of joining hands with the Korean music industry is expected to become a "lifesaver" to promote the number of viewers turning on the screen for reasons beyond the framework of football.
In fact, this is not the first time FIFA has used this strategy. The clearest historical evidence is the appearance of Jungkook (BTS) at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The performance of the theme song "Dreamers" at Al Bayt Stadium (Qatar) at that time created a huge media effect.
According to data from the analysis unit Netbase Quid, the youngest member of BTS has entered the Top 4 most mentioned figures on global social networks during the 2022 World Cup – standing next to superstars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.
The song "Dreamers" immediately swept the iTunes charts in more than 102 countries and territories, bringing in hundreds of millions of listens in just a few days. Jungkook's explosion in Qatar is proof that K-pop has the ability to attract a huge mass audience, which is not traditional football fans.
Continuing that pivotal success, FIFA has comprehensively upgraded its approach thinking at the 2026 World Cup. Entertainment is no longer a sideline supporting factor but has become the core part of the event experience, most clearly shown through bringing the halftime show model of the Super Bowl into the final.
The appearance of K-pop stars helps FIFA realize 3 strategic goals. First, it helps blur the borders of trade to access new markets. Second, it is to dominate social networking platforms such as TikTok, X, YouTube with huge interaction volume. Third and also most importantly, it contributes to rejuvenating the audience, bringing the tournament directly to Gen Z and even younger people.
The heat of this strategy has been proven through Lisa (Blackpink)'s explosive performance at the 2026 World Cup Opening Ceremony at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (USA). The K-pop idol and international artists stirred up millions of viewers with the theme song "Goals". In just a few hours, the name Lisa completely dominated the online space, creating a wave of discussion and bringing back record traffic for the tournament's media channels.
Despite receiving many mixed opinions, Lisa's appearance at the opening ceremony is still considered a remarkable milestone, affirming the increasingly large position of Kpop artists on global stages.
If the name Lisa has gained a lot of discussion on social media platforms, BTS is the strategic card chosen by FIFA to ignite emotions for the historic final night. On July 19, 2026 (local time), the group will join two musical icons Madonna and Shakira to hold the position of main performers.
The combination of these 3 superstars is expected to ignite a global media earthquake, turning the 2026 World Cup closing night into the most watched television event in history and setting unprecedented interactive records on digital platforms.
Football is likened to a starting player of the FIFA World Cup, but K-pop is proving its position as a strategic "stand-in player".
As the boundary between sports and entertainment is gradually being removed, this intersection not only helps FIFA solve the immediate media crisis problem, but it also officially turns the 2026 World Cup into a global mega-concert.
