Sarina Wiegman Gives Burna Boy Shout-Out at Ballon d’Or
England women’s head coach, Sarina Wiegman, surprised many on Monday night when she mentioned Nigerian Afrobeats star Burna Boy during her acceptance speech at the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.
Wiegman, who won the Women’s Coach of the Year award at the Théâtre du Châtelet, joked that there would have been “a little bit of dancing” if Burna Boy had been invited to perform.
“Let’s celebrate our successes. And if Burna Boy is around, maybe we would do a little bit of dancing too,” she said to loud cheers.
The Dutch coach is known to be a fan of Burna Boy. She once revealed that his song For My Hand, featuring British singer Ed Sheeran, was her most played track on Spotify in 2023.
Burna Boy has a strong link with football. He performed at England’s Euro trophy parade at Buckingham Palace in July 2022 and became the first African artiste to perform at a Champions League final in 2023.
However, it was another Nigerian star, Rema, who made history at the Ballon d’Or in 2023, when he became the first African artiste to perform at the awards show.
