We're very excited to announce that a brand new Shakira song has been chosen as the the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. You can see the artwork for the track, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” by Shakira featuring Freshlyground, above.

The song will be performed by Shakira and South African group Freshlyground, at the Closing Ceremony before the World Cup Final on July 11 in Johannesburg Soccer City Stadium. The chorus borrows from a favorite Cameroonian marching chant made popular by the group Golden Sounds.  

“I am honored that Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) was chosen to be part of the excitement and the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” said Shakira. “The FIFA World Cup is a miracle of global excitement, connecting every country, race, religion and condition around a single passion. It represents an event that has the power to unite and integrate, and that’s what this song is about.”

Shakira continued, “African music is so inspiring and is poised to take its place on the global pop culture stage. I was proud to be able to work with one of South Africa’s most acclaimed groups, Freshlyground.” The song was co-produced by Shakira's frequent collaborator, John Hill.

“We are thrilled to have collaborated with Shakira on Waka Waka (This Time For Africa), especially as we feel that the song captures the spirit and energy of the African World Cup,” said Zolani Mahola of Freshlyground. “We are certain the song will inspire people around the world to celebrate the gathering of nations at the place where it all started. Here in Africa!”

The song will be made available for download through digital retailers the week of May 11. It also will be included on “Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album” to be released the week of May 31 by Sony Music Entertainment. A Spanish language version of the track, Waka Waka (Esto es Africa), will be made available in certain markets.

Proceeds from the album will benefit FIFA’s “20 Centers for 2010” initiative, whose aim is to achieve positive social change through football by building twenty Football for Hope centres for public health, education and football across Africa, and other African charities.

Shakira was also recently named an ambassador of 1GOAL, adding her voice to the campaign's call that the lasting legacy of this year's FIFA World Cup be that every child can exercise their right to an education.  Supported by some of the biggest names in the global football community and its governing body FIFA, Shakira will be campaigning with 1GOAL to ensure world leaders provide the funding to make universal access to education a reality for the 72 million children currently unable to go to school.

“Through “20 Centers for 2010” and 1GOAL, FIFA and its partners have committed to creating a lasting legacy of education for all – an issue that has been close to my heart for many years,” says Shakira.
 
In addition to her performance at the final match, Shakira will be one of the headline performers at the official FIFA World Cup Kick-off Celebration Concert on June 10, broadcast from Orlando Stadium in Soweto/Johannesburg South Africa.
 
The video for Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) will premiere in mid-May.

Today I visited Haiti. Never before had I seen a place with this level of destruction. I visited a country that has been left with no type of infrastructure; water, sanitation, electricity, schools or hospitals, with 86 percent of the population unemployed and one million eight hundred thousand people displaced.

I saw mothers who lost their children, children who lost their parents, women who have lost their entire families forever. I saw a country that lost nearly everything, but still has its strength. I will forever remember the gaze of men and women who, despite everything, do not feel defeated. Young Haitians that are ready to start rebuilding, full of hope. Children that are still smiling and dream of a better life. That strength is the opportunity of this nation that today awaits all the possible international aid it can get. A nation that depends on our promises and also on our good memory - because even more tragic than the catastrophe itself would be for Haiti to be forgotten.

However, having met people from different places, students and professionals, anonymous or famous, who have decided to give their time and efforts to settle in Haiti and help, fills me with optimism. Sean Penn, for example, personally leads one of the largest refugee camps in the country. He has been living in a camp for nearly three months. He sleeps in a small precarious tent no different than those of the 60 thousand displaced people that live there while he tries to relocate them. He has been able to get a considerable amount of international aid and through his daily work he continues to inspire many people that, like him, have volunteered to help. U.S., Filipino and Indian Marines, as well as many young volunteers, have mobilized to the area to join forces.

Everyday there are more and more people in the world who connect with the needs of those less fortunate. Newer generations absorb these examples and know that in today's world the problems of one group of people are the problems of the whole world. My hope is that through education and communication this message is spread and becomes the legacy we leave our children and our children's children.

Today, I saw firsthand the needs of the Haitian people. In my meetings today I understood, even more so, that simply by building schools and hospitals the Haitian society may regain their dignity and move forward.

We have visited possible locations to build a Barefoot Foundation school, where children can receive adequate food and education. We met with several NGO's and potential strategic partners to start working in the coming months. We will start building a school in Haiti that hopefully may be completed later this year.

It will soon be hurricane season and I just hope that the people of Haiti can find shelter from inclement weather in the coming months, and that we are there for them.

I wanted to share my experience today with anyone who wants to know about it, because there is a lot to be done and individually we are drops of water, but together we can be a whole ocean. I learned that today from an eleven-year-old boy who has seen little, but who already knows so much.

Shakira

On Sunday, Shakira flew into Haiti to meet survivors of the devestating earthquake which hit the country in January. She was there on behalf of the Barefoot Foundation, which is searching for a suitable place to build a school for children in need. Shakira was welcomed by actor Sean Penn, who is providing humanitarian aid at the refugee camps. Together they visited a makeshift camp for 50,000 quake survivors.

You can read more about the visit, and see some video footage, at the BBC's website by clicking here.