After decades in the music industry, 49-year-old Shakira has no intention of slowing down.
With the release of a brand new FIFA World Cup anthem, a highly anticipated halftime performance planned for the World Cup and a series of sold-out concerts in Madrid about to begin, the global superstar claims she is at the peak of her career.
"It's strange, because I've been doing this job for 30 years and I still feel like I'm just starting out: I'm still just as passionate and in love with my job," Shakira said Friday during a virtual press conference in New York.
It's simply an exciting period in my life, where I'm balancing all of this with motherhood and where I realize that at my age, at this stage of my life, I'm still as passionate as I was on the very first day," she added.
FIFA announced on Thursday that, for the first time, the World Cup final, to be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, would be punctuated by a concert modeled after the Super Bowl.
Besides Shakira, Madonna and the boy band BTS will also be headlining.
FIFA has indicated that this show will support the FIFA Global Fund for Civic Education, which aims to raise $100 million to help children access education and football – a cause that is particularly close to Shakira's heart.
"This has been my cause in a way since I was 18. I've essentially dedicated myself to two things: writing songs and building schools. And now, finally, these two paths are coming together during this World Cup," she said.
The Colombian star will donate all proceeds from his song "Dai Dai", composed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to the FIFA Global Fund for Citizenship Education.
Shakira has also pledged to donate $1 from every ticket sold during her upcoming US tour to similar causes.
This year's World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and will take place in June and July.
Shakira's last official song for the FIFA World Cup was "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)", released in 2010.
