The 2022 FIFA World Cup, a controversial affair already, is less than a day away and reports are abuzz about Nicki Minaj and her supposed inclusion as a headliner at the opening ceremony.
UPDATE: Despite leading as one of the artists on the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack, Tukoh Taka, Nicki Minaj and every other artist, with the exception of BTS’ Jungkook, did not perform at the opening ceremony.
Is Nicki Minaj performing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony?
The Super Freaky Girl was seen greeting fans in Qatar on Friday, further fuelling speculation on her involvement in the opening ceremony, which prefaces the first fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup between the host nation and Ecuador.
Minaj’s sighting comes a day after she teamed up with Maluma and Myriam Fares for Tukoh Taka, FIFA’s official ‘fan festival’ anthem for this year’s tournament.
Released on Friday, the accompanying music video had, at the time this article was published, garnered more than 8.1 million views on YouTube.
While speculation remains rife on Minaj’s involvement in the opening ceremony, the rapper has yet to confirm her rumoured inclusion in the lineup.
Other acts rumoured to perform at the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony include:
- Robbie Williams;
- Black Eyed Peas;
- Nora Fatehi; and
- Jungkook
Shakira and Dua Lipa were some of the A-list acts linked to the event. However, according to reports, both artists have since pulled out of the occasion, citing personal reasons.
A World Cup riddled with controversy
Leading up to Sunday’s opening ceremony, the football event has been marred in controversy. For starters, bombshell revelations made in Netflix’s FIFA Uncovered sparked debate about Qatar’s eligibility to host a tournament of its magnitude, considering the fact that nations like the US and the UK had also placed bids for the World Cup.
Moreover, Qatar’s conservative culture has come under the spotlight after FIFA reversed its decision to sell alcohol at and around stadiums in the 11th hour, effectively nulling its $75 million sponsorship with Budweiser.
“Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters,” the statement read.
FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino also addressed mounting backlash over Qatar’s apparent silence on the horrid treatment of migrant workers in the Arab country and in a bombshell statement, he called out Europe’s hypocrisy.
“For what we Europeans have been doing in the last 3 000 years around the world we should be apologising for [the] next 3 000 years before starting to give moral lessons.
“You can crucify me. I’m here for that. Don’t criticise Qatar, don’t criticise the players. Criticise FIFA, criticise me if you want because I’m responsible for everything, but let the people enjoy this World Cup,” he said.