Image
Image Credit
Cole Burston / Contributor via Getty Images and Giorgio Viera / Contributor via Getty Images
Image Alt
Drake and Giovanni Infantino
Image Size
landscape-medium
Image Position
center

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Federation Internationale de Football Association (or FIFA) will introduce a halftime show at the 2026 men’s World Cup final. “I can confirm,” wrote FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the decision on Instagram. “This will be a historic moment ... and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.” The date is set for July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Additionally, FIFA is partnering with Global Citizen and enlisting Coldplay to help curate the show’s lineup. As speculation swirls around potential performers, Infantino seems to be entertaining a bold and undeniably strategic idea: Drake.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGz7YYlo9ie

The idea stemmed from an unlikely source

During a Thursday (March 6) appearance on “Good Day New York,” Infantino was prompted by host Rosanna Scotto, who floated the suggestion of the OVO frontman as a World Cup halftime show headliner. Her reasoning? The ongoing, deeply personal feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which reached new heights and a round of disses at Super Bowl LIX. Infantino, ever the showman, appeared to warm up to the idea. “So, we can create a bit of a rivalry?” he joked, before adding, “That’s a good idea. Actually, Drake was with us when we announced the host cities. ... I should have his number saved somewhere.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBqdKS6Mi80
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_hijvIcCV0

A feud that reached a breaking point

While a cold war was in effect long before the conflict hit the mainstream, things escalated in 2024 after Lamar declared himself the superior rapper above Drake and J. Cole. This set off a barrage of diss records, with Lamar’s wildly successful “Not Like Us” making shocking accusations about his Toronto counterpart and his collective. Drake, in turn, hit hard with scathing cuts like “Family Matters” and “The Heart Part 6" before taking his and Lamar’s record label, UMG, to court for defamation. The battle continued well into 2025, with Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show being what many considered to be a knockout blow.

Now, with FIFA entering the conversation, the stakes feel even higher. If Drake does take center stage in 2026, it could become a moment of global retaliation and an assertion of dominance on a scale that even the NFL’s big show can’t quite match. Whether or not that’s the intention, one thing is clear: Infantino and his team are well aware of how to make history.