Shakira credits Waka Waka for meeting her children’s father | OneFootball

Shakira said her World Cup anthem Waka Waka changed her life. "If it had not been for Waka Waka, I would not have met the father of my children," she told Noticias Caracol.

The Colombian star, the most awarded Latin artist in history, has long soundtracked FIFA’s showpieces, from Hips Don’t Lie, Bamboo version, for Germany 2006 to Dai, Dai, the official 2026 anthem.

She and her former partner, ex-footballer Gerard Piqué, met in 2010 ahead of South Africa. Shakira said in 2017 on El Hormiguero they did not meet during the video shoot, she filmed in Los Angeles and he in Spain. Their first meeting was in Madrid.

"On the first day I told her we would meet in the final. We started by losing our first game, but in the end we won," Piqué told L'Esportiu de Catalunya in 2020.

Four years later, during Brazil 2014 preparations, she released Dare, La La La, a global hit featuring Piqué and their first son Milan, then just over one year old. They announced their separation in June 2022.

Many missed her at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, she could not do the first for health reasons and declined the latter over human rights concerns. Her 2026 return has topped Billboard and Spotify’s Global chart. "I am donating 100% of my royalties to FIFA’s education fund," she said.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”