Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy has revealed that British pop star Ed Sheeran played a key role in preparing him for the pressure of performing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
The Afrofusion star disclosed this during an interview with Capital FM, saying Sheeran was also the first person to contact him about collaborating with Colombian superstar Shakira on the tournament’s official anthem, Dai Dai.
According to Burna Boy, Sheeran personally reached out to him with the proposal and encouraged him to join the project.
“He’s actually the first one to call me about this because he’s the one that had my number before everyone. He hit me up about it and said, ‘Yeah, we should do the World Cup song with Shakira,’ and I said, ‘I’d love to work with Shakira, let’s do it,’” Burna Boy said.
The singer explained that Sheeran understood how demanding large-scale performances could be and wanted him to be mentally prepared for the global spotlight associated with the World Cup.
“He had to give me the heads up like, ‘Yo, you’re gonna have to perform at the finals and all of that,’ because he knows me.
“He knows how I get down. He knows the stress part is a bit crazy for me, so he gave me a heads-up. He was like, ‘Yo, it’s gonna be real stressful,’” he said.
Burna Boy praised Sheeran’s professionalism and described him as one of the most intelligent and thoughtful collaborators he has worked with.
“He’s just a very sensible and lovable guy. He’s someone I’ve taken to personally from the beginning. Ed is very smart, man. He always knows what he’s doing,” he added.
The revelation comes weeks after Shakira explained that she specifically wanted Burna Boy on the World Cup anthem because of his distinctive voice and Afrobeats influence.
According to the Colombian singer, she felt the song required a strong male vocal presence to complement its sound and reflect the energy associated with football’s biggest tournament.
“It took a while. I was waiting for 20 days for him to send something. I thought maybe he wasn’t going to do it. But then he sent his magic and it was just absolutely perfect,” Shakira said.
Dai Dai, co-written by Ed Sheeran and producer Alexander Castillo, served as the official anthem of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Burna Boy and Shakira performed the song during the tournament’s opening ceremony in Mexico City and later headlined the inaugural FIFA World Cup final halftime show in New Jersey.
The collaboration marked another major milestone for Burna Boy and further highlighted the growing global influence of Afrobeats.
