Madonna will light up the World Cup final. But FIFA is breaking rules for the show

Half-time at the World Cup final could last up to half an hour thanks to FIFA’s controversial Super Bowl-style interval.

Broadcasters are bracing themselves for a 30-minute break to accommodate an 11-minute “half-time show” along with their usual 15-minute mid-game analysis.

The laws of the game prohibit the interval of any match lasting more than 15 minutes, but FIFA has already flouted them at last year’s Club World Cup with one that stretched to 25 minutes.

With the governing body wanting to create a World Cup final half-time show to rival that for which the Super Bowl has long been renowned, broadcasters are expecting it to last even longer. That could make the final the lengthiest ever edition of the flagship fixture.

Each half already features three-minute hydration breaks which many suspect are a Trojan horse for additional adverts.

Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus featuring Coldplay are due to perform on Sunday at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

The 5am kick-off on Monday will also be preceded by a closing ceremony starting 90 minutes earlier and featuring the likes of Robbie Williams, Tom Cruise and Nicole Scherzinger.

The sport’s lawmaking body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), rejected a 2021 proposal from the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, for the maximum length of half-time to be extended to 25 minutes.

IFAB cited the “negative impact on player welfare and safety resulting from a longer period of inactivity”.

Despite this, CONMEBOL staged a Shakira concert lasting that long during the 2024 Copa America final in Miami.

That led to a complaint from Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo, who had been sanctioned at the same tournament for his team returning from half-time one minute late.

FIFA has been approached for comment.

Telegraph, London