Michael Gietzen, group chief executive officer at Identity, said: “FIFA’s own objectives state it exists to make football accessible to everyone, and a half-time show is one of the few tools that actually does that.
“It’s not there for people who’d watch the final anyway, it’s there for someone who tunes in for Bieber or BTS and ends up watching a World Cup final for the first time.
“Extending the break made sense against that goal. But where I’d push back is the execution, not the principle. You had Madonna, BTS, Bieber, Shakira and Burna Boy, and none of them got the time to actually land.
“If the aim is bringing in people who don’t already care about football, you need one act with enough space to actually hook them, not six names flashing past in 11 minutes.
“Give one act the full stage and you get a new fan. Split it six ways and you get a highlights reel nobody asked for.”
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