Justin Bieber's Sneakers Auction for Charity Breaks Estimates
The 2026 World Cup final delivered drama on the pitch. Off it, a pair of sneakers quietly delivered something just as meaningful.
A custom pair of SKYLRK Matter Daddy low-tops worn by Justin Bieber during his halftime performance at the Spain v. Argentina final at MetLife Stadium has sold for $26,400 at Christie’s, with every dollar headed to charity. The “latte” colorway shoes, finished with light pink accents, were initially expected to fetch between $2,000 and $4,000. Bidding blew straight through that ceiling.
The money goes to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund as part of Christie’s One Goal auction, a $100 million initiative designed to widen access to both education and soccer for children around the world. One pair of briefly worn sneakers, 10 times the estimate, and a direct line to classrooms and pitches far from the glare of a World Cup final.
Bieber wore the shoes while performing the acoustic ballad “Everything Hallelujah” in the first-ever FIFA final halftime show, a made-for-global-TV spectacle that pulled together a heavyweight lineup: Madonna, BTS, Shakira, Burna Boy, the Muppets’ Electric Mayhem band, Gustavo Dudamel with the New York Philharmonic, and a closing set curated by Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who led “We Dance” alongside the PS22 Chorus.
Christie’s confirmed that Bieber debuted this particular Matter Daddy “latte” look on that July 19 night in New Jersey. The sneakers were just one piece of a broader trove of performance-worn memorabilia that turned pop culture into funding power.
BTS, unsurprisingly, were at the heart of the bidding frenzy. Items worn by the group during their run through their Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Dynamite” pulled in a combined $300,300. Among the standout lots:
- RM’s chunky Untitled-03 black boots went for $19,800;
- j-hope’s black and red fingerless gloves drew $28,600;
- Jin’s red leather belt reached $16,500.
Suga’s red leather pants, complete with a sewn-in silk scarf bearing the names of all the BTS members, climbed to $33,000. A custom black silk scarf worn by V, decorated with the group’s name, demon faces and soccer balls, matched the intensity of the bidding at $46,200. Jung Kook’s red, black and white motocross jacket also hit $46,200, while a white and red jersey with BTS patches worn by Jimin surged to a remarkable $110,000.
Shakira’s presence on the block added another layer of star power. The bright yellow costume from the official “Dai Dai” music video sold for $8,250. An Earth Ball soccer ball signed by Shakira, Kaka and FIFA president Gianni Infantino brought in $3,850, a neat fusion of football, music and governance in a single piece of memorabilia.
Madonna, who opened the halftime show, also saw her stage wardrobe turned into serious fundraising fuel. Her bright pink, bedazzled fingerless gloves — worn during her halftime opening set — commanded $41,800, underlining the enduring pull of her name and the appetite for one-of-a-kind performance pieces.
The auction didn’t stop at clothing. The handwritten blueprint of the night’s musical climax also found a buyer. The two-page lyric sheet for Coldplay’s “We Dance,” featuring the lyrics on one page and the halftime setlist on the other, signed by Martin and accompanied by a message of love, sold for $15,400. A blue World Cup Earth ball inscribed with the names of the halftime performers by Martin cleared more than $6,000.
One night, one final, one halftime show. From a pair of “latte” sneakers to silk scarves and bedazzled gloves, the World Cup’s biggest stage has turned into an unlikely pipeline for education and football access. The real question now is simple: after this kind of response, how much bigger can the next World Cup’s cultural footprint become?
