Davido praised for World Cup, Nations Cup

Davido was praised on X on June 2 after a post by user @_ikofficial said the Nigerian singer had performed at both the FIFA World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in successive tournament appearances. The post described the run as a milestone for a Nigerian artist and drew replies and reposts on the platform. Public records show Davido appeared at the 2022 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony in Qatar and at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Those appearances are documented by contemporaneous media reports and CAF’s own tournament coverage. ### Which football tournaments did Davido perform at? December 18, 2022, is the date Davido appeared at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Premium Times reported that he performed “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” alongside Aisha and Trinidad Cardona before the final between Argentina and France at Lusail Iconic Stadium. The outlet said the appearance made him the first Nigerian artist to perform on a FIFA World Cup stage. (premiumtimesng.com) December 21, 2025, is the date CAF says Davido took part in the opening ceremony of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Rabat. CAF said French Montana, Davido and RedOne headlined the ceremony’s flagship performance shortly before hosts Morocco faced Comoros in the opening match at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. (premiumtimesng.com) ### What exactly was the June 2 social-media claim? June 2 was when @_ikofficial posted that Davido had performed at the World Cup and Nations Cup “back-to-back,” framing it as a first for a Nigerian artist. The wording in the post appears to use “back-to-back” in the sense of consecutive appearances at two major football tournaments rather than events held in the same year. (cafonline.com) The available reporting supports the underlying sequence of appearances: World Cup in 2022, then AFCON in 2025. I could not independently verify from primary organizers that any other Nigerian artist had previously made that same World Cup-to-AFCON sequence, so the “first Nigerian artist” claim should be treated as a social-media characterization unless further documented. ### What did Davido do at the World Cup? Qatar’s 2022 World Cup closing ceremony featured Davido as part of the performance of “Hayya Hayya (Better Together),” one of the tournament soundtrack songs. Premium Times said the performance came before an estimated 88,000 fans at Lusail Iconic Stadium and marked Davido’s first public performance after the death of his son, Ifeanyi. (premiumtimesng.com) A December 2025 retrospective by Nigerian Entertainment Today also said Davido became the first Nigerian artist to perform at a FIFA World Cup final event, appearing during the closing ceremony on December 18, 2022. ### What did he do at the Nations Cup? CAF’s tournament report said Davido was one of three headline performers at AFCON 2025’s opening ceremony in Rabat. (premiumtimesng.com) The governing body said the show took place moments before Morocco’s opening match against Comoros and was built as a spectacle for a global television audience. (thenet.ng) Business and entertainment coverage published after the event also described the AFCON appearance as another addition to Davido’s record of performances at major football events. Those reports place the ceremony in Morocco at the start of the month-long tournament that ran through January 18, 2026. (cafonline.com) ### What can be verified, and what remains a social-media talking point? The verifiable facts are that Davido performed at the 2022 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony and the 2025 AFCON opening ceremony. The June 2 X post praising that run is also verifiable from the linked post referenced in the briefing. The narrower claim that he is the first Nigerian artist to perform at both tournaments in that sequence is plausible based on the reporting reviewed, but I did not find an official FIFA or CAF record explicitly certifying that superlative. (businessday.ng) As of June 3, 2026, the next public reference point for readers is still the June 2 X post and the archived tournament coverage from CAF and media reports documenting the two performances. (cafonline.com)