The rise and seeming dominance of the Nigerian Afrobeats has been felt by the entire word in the last decade and half.

For the last 13 years – between 2013 and 2025 – at least eight Nigerian music stars including D’Banj, Yemi Alade, Davido, Kizz Daniel, Patoranking, Rema, Burna Boy and Tems, have performed at various international football tournaments.

The performances aren’t at just any footballing tournaments but at the highest football tournaments across the globe.

From the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and to the African Cup of Nations in South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire, UEFA Championship in Istanbul, the iconic Ballon d’Or in Paris, France, and even Club World Cup in United States, these Nigerian artists have been there and done that.

However, of all the eight Nigerian music stars that have performed at the different international football tournaments, four of these artists distinguished themselves with historic feats. These four inked their names as first Nigerian act – and in some cases, first African act – to perform at the Ballon d’Or, UCL finals, FIFA World Cup and Club World Cup.

Davido, Rema, Burna Boy and Tems have not only represented Nigeria well at some of the world’s largest footballing events, they have distinguished themselves from their peers and taken Afrobeats respect and dominance to a global height.

Rema

Football event: Ballon d’Or

Year: 2023

Rema performed at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which was held in Paris, France at the Théâtre du Châtelet on October 30, 2023. He became the first African artist to perform at the prestigious event. Rema performed his hit song “Calm Down” at the ceremony.

Burna Boy

Football event: UEFA Championship League final

Year: 2023

Multi-platinum selling Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer Burna Boy headlined the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show. The event was packaged by Pepsi for UEFA and saw the energetic singer performing to a 77, 576 capacity filled Atatürk Olympic Stadium. This gave the singer an edge as the first Nigerian to grace the highly coveted stage.

Davido

Football tournament: FIFA World Cup Final

Year: 2022

In 2022, at the World Cup, Davido made history as the first Nigerian artist to perform at a FIFA World Cup final. Davido also joined some other globally recognised music stars to perform the official World Cup anthem “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” in Qatar to a crowd of over 80,000 at the Lusail Stadium.

Tems

Football tournament: Club World Cup Final

Year: 2025

Nigerian Grammy-winning artiste, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems performed at the FIFA Club World Cup Final Halftime Show. The performance took place on Sunday, July 13, 2025 and she made history as the first Nigerian and African to perform at the highly anticipated final of the global tournament, which had an 82,000 crowd in the MetLife Stadium in New York-New Jersey.