Afro-pop group Freshly Ground is demanding answers from FIFA and Sony on where the royalties for one of the most successful World Cup songs have gone.
In 2010, the group collaborated with the Colombian singer Shakira to create one of the world’s most loved FIFA anthems, “Waka Waka,” which was the theme song for the soccer World Cup hosted in South Africa.
It is reported that the song, which accompanies a trendy hip dance move, currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the most successful FIFA World Cup song, with views continuing to grow on music platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
At the time of recording, it was agreed that the royalties from the song would be used to benefit several African charities. Although it has been 25 years since the song’s release, the group has still not been informed about which charities benefited from this.
In a recent interview with Radio 702, Simon Attwell, manager and co-founder of the group, says that he first enquired about this in 2013, but was left unanswered.
Since then, the song has continued to see success, which sparked the band’s curiosity earlier this year.
Speaking to the above-mentioned broadcaster, Simon highlighted that because the collaboration was such a rush, they did not have enough time to iron out which charities would benefit from the royalties. Nevertheless, they went ahead and signed.
While it was later revealed that Shakira would choose the charity, he adds that it was not until this year that it was said that the money was paid over to FIFA, who uses it towards their charity called 20 Centres for 2010. However, Simon further notes that this charity was shut down in 2014.
”Our question is simple. We signed a deal and we would really like you guys to honour your side of the deal, which is to show us how much money has been accrued and to which charities it has been distributed to,” he said.
