Afrobeats is heading to the National Football League (NFL) in a milestone that will see Nigerian stars Ayra Starr and Burna Boy become the first African artists to headline NFL halftime shows.
Starr will be the first to take the stage, performing at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on October 11, when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Jacksonville Jaguars. Two weeks later, Burna Boy will headline the halftime show at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on October 25, as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New Orleans Saints in the NFL’s first regular-season game in France.
The two appearances put Afrobeats at the centre of the entertainment programme for two of the league’s international fixtures and mark a new intersection between Nigerian music’s growing global reach and the NFL’s expansion beyond the United States.
For Starr, the London performance comes shortly after the release of her third studio album, Starrgirl, on August 14. The singer described the opportunity as a personal milestone.
“London is one of my favorite places in the world and to bring Starrgirl to the NFL global stage is a dream come true for me,” Starr said.
Her appearance will also establish her as the first Nigerian, African and Afrobeats artist to headline an NFL halftime show.
Burna Boy’s performance will come with a different connection to the Paris venue. In April 2025, he became the first African artist to sell out a solo concert at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France. His return to the stadium, this time for the NFL’s inaugural regular-season game in France, adds another chapter to his relationship with the city.
“Paris gave me one of the biggest nights of my career, and to walk back into Stade de France for a moment like this means everything,” Burna Boy said.
“The NFL is bringing something to France that has never happened here before, and I get to stand in the middle of it representing African music.”
The NFL’s selection of the two Nigerian artists comes as the league stages seven international halftime shows across four continents during the 2026 season.
Tim Tubito, the NFL’s Senior Director of Global Game Presentation, Music and Entertainment, said Burna Boy’s connection with Paris was among the reasons the artist was suited to the occasion.
“The first NFL game in France deserves a halftime moment that matches the occasion,” Tubito said. “Paris is one of the great cultural capitals of the world, and African music sits right at the heart of what the city listens to.”
Starr’s London appearance and Burna Boy’s subsequent Paris performance therefore represent more than two isolated entertainment bookings. Coming within two weeks of each other, they give two Nigerian artists consecutive spots on the NFL’s international calendar and place Afrobeats before audiences attending the league’s games in two major European cities.
The development also comes at a time when Nigerian artists have increasingly established audiences outside Africa, with Burna Boy and Starr among the generation of performers whose music has travelled well beyond the traditional Afrobeats market.
Now, for the first time, that sound will form part of the NFL’s international game-day experience, with two Nigerian artists set to make history on consecutive Sundays in October.
