NEW YORK (AP) — The organization Global Citizen, which fights poverty worldwide, has experience with major events. The advocacy organization brought together more than 60,000 people at its Central Park festival last year to focus attention on protecting rainforests and improving energy access.
Now Global Citizen is working on its biggest project to date: organizing the inaugural FIFA World Cup halftime show scheduled for July 19, developed with assistance from Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin. The event will showcase Super Bowl-style entertainment — rarely seen in soccer — starring Madonna, Shakira and BTS. Additionally on Thursday, Shakira unveiled the tournament’s official anthem “Dai Dai” featuring Afrobeats star Burna Boy.
Event planners hope to channel the tournament’s anticipated billions of global viewers toward a charitable effort created in partnership with soccer’s worldwide governing organization. Using what Global Citizen founder Hugh Evans described as the “complementary” bonding forces of soccer and music, the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund seeks to collect $100 million for community organizations that give disadvantaged children educational opportunities and sports access.
“I hope that on the world’s biggest stage, finally, the importance of investing in education steals the show,” Shakira told the Global Citizen NOW summit in New York on Thursday. Later, she told The Associated Press in an interview that she wanted to help the “many children who are being left behind.”
“That should be our first concern,” Shakira said. “I’m so excited that finally we’re gonna use a global event like this one as a platform to discuss what’s most important: kids’ education.”
However, that effort might face challenges due to the enormous expense of game tickets. One dollar from each World Cup ticket purchase will support the education fund. But with tickets priced in the four- to five-figure range, plus expensive travel and accommodation costs, some host cities are reducing their attendance projections.
Adding to the complexity of their unity message is FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s growing relationship with President Donald Trump, whose limiting immigration policies and recent military actions create what opponents view as an unwelcoming atmosphere unusual for an international sports competition.
Infantino presented FIFA’s new peace prize to Trump in December. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was also named to the education fund’s board.
Evans is not concentrating on politics, though. “I’m a pragmatist,” he told the AP. “I’ve always believed that if we can do something so unbelievably positive, it has the potential to unite people at a time when the world needs it most.”
Thursday’s Global Citizen NOW summit presenters highlighted their capacity to create cross-industry backing for initiatives like the education fund. The yearly spring meeting brings together performers, corporate leaders and international officials to explore joint approaches to eliminating extreme poverty, often connecting with the United Nations’ comprehensive “sustainable development goals” that span from ending hunger to reaching gender equality.
They’ve collected $47 million thus far for the education fund, according to a Thursday announcement at a Global Citizen summit in New York City. Corporate backers Bank of America, MetLife and Cisco contributed $15 million collectively, according to Evans. MetLife is adding an extra $5 for each video that supporters share online showing themselves juggling a soccer ball with the hashtag #FootworkForFutures.
Indian education entrepreneur Sunny Varkey and his Varkey Foundation provided $3 million. Also being contributed are ticket revenues from The Weeknd’s successful world tour along with the joint tour recently revealed by Usher and Chris Brown. Shakira announced Thursday she will contribute 100% of her “Dai Dai” earnings plus $1 from each ticket to her newly expanded tour in the United States.
Evans is now approaching national leaders for additional financial backing. He invited current or future World Cup host nations to add supplemental funding.
“It has the potential to say to the whole world: We are global citizens… We’re all on this amazing planet together. Let’s solve the world’s biggest problems together,” Evans said, adding that the move can foster a human approach rather than a “nationalistic” one.
Evans referenced the 27 initial FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund recipients, announced earlier this week, as motivation. Among the beneficiaries was Hit the Books, a Harlem-based nonprofit that uses mixed martial arts as the hook to provide students with additional educational resources.
The grants range from $50,000 to $250,000. Jhae Thompson, executive director of Hit the Books, said the support is meaningful because many nonprofits support hundreds of children on incredibly small budgets.
“What we are really leveraging is the foundation of what a young person needs in order to build character, to build discipline, to build confidence,” Thompson told the Global Citizen NOW audience.
Global Citizen has developed partnerships in new areas as traditional supporters including the U.S. reduce their international aid spending. That growth includes the Middle East, represented by the addition of Mariam AlMheiri to their board.
AlMheiri, who heads the International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates, emphasized that “when you look at a football, everyone’s happy” — a positive association she hopes will translate into support for the education fund.
Marcus Samuelsson, a multiple James Beard Award-winning chef and avid soccer fan, noted that this World Cup is spread across three different countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada. The tournament, he added, has expanded from its origins as a competition largely between South American and European nations to represent countries in Africa and Asia, too.
He hopes that wide geographic spread inspires curiosity about global issues.
“You start thinking about these countries. You maybe want to go there on vacation, maybe you want to go there, volunteer and help out. Whatever gets you going,” Samuelsson told AP. “And it can start by falling in love while watching them.”
