Co-written by Shakira and John Hill, it was released on 7 May 2010 by Epic Records as the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was held in South Africa.

However, the selection of Shakira to sing the song generated controversy after numerous South Africans expressed disappointment in FIFA's decision, arguing that a native artist should have been assigned the role.

The inclusion of Freshlyground, a South African rock band whose genres span jazz, blues and kwela (afro-pop) on the track took place after Hill met with their producer in New York.

The announcement mentioned that Shakira would perform the song at the closing ceremony of the cup, which would take place before the Final match, on 11 July at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

[19] Fraser McAlpine from BBC Music Chart Blog described them to be "about an undisclosed event which is about to happen for Africa, in which everyone gets together and enjoys the fruits of their hard work, even though there have been many hardships along the way.

[21][22][23] However, members of the group Golden Sounds/Zangalewa, Guy Dooh and Jean Paul Ze Bella and their manager Didier Edo, held a press conference to "'enlighten international opinion' and above all to 'silence rumors about a possible legal action'".

Regarding the controversy, Edo said: "There is no question of plagiarism as some have thought, but the international singer has simply readapted the song", and that there was an agreement with Shakira's management and Sony Music.

[26] South African musicians were also displeased regarding the lack of native acts scheduled to perform at the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert on 10 June 2010.

They expressed anger towards the South African Football Association (SAFA) for letting international artists such as Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas, and Shakira headline the event.

Subsequently, the Creative Workers Union of South Africa planned a demonstration to be held on 15 April, but called it off after SAFA announced that the repertoire of performing acts would be finalised after "consultation with fans and host cities.

FIFA requires a musician of a certain global reach to appeal to all the different kinds of people who are involved and witness and watch the World Cup.

[29] However, Vargas later directly addressed the issue and said he did not have any intention to sue Shakira, clarifying that he himself did not own the riff used in "El Negro No Puede", and that the prior statements made in his name were fabricated.

[30] Fraser McAlpine from BBC Music Chart Blog gave the song a four-out-of-five rating and praised its welding of "undulating African guitars to a clod-hopping, skippy township beat."

However, he felt that the song did not seem to be about the World Cup and could "just as easily be about a global effort to build water-pipes in the worst drought-ridden areas of the continental land-mass.

"[20] Robert Copsey from Digital Spy rated it three out of five stars, favouring its "ludicrously catchy" chorus, although he commented: "Somewhat inevitably, 'Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)' sees Shak[ira] replace her usual kooky lyrics with lines that wouldn't sound out of place on an X Factor winner's song.

[44] It is also Shakira's most successful single in the country and was certified double-platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Austria, denoting sales of 60,000 units.

[45] In both the Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia regions of Belgium, the song reached number one on the Ultratop charts, logging a total of five and eight weeks at the spot, respectively.

[78] It was developed and conceptualised by Shakira along with Antonio Navas, executive creative director of international marketing agency Ogilvy & Mather.

Freshlyground appear during their verse, with lead singer Zolani Mahola and violinist Kyla-Rose Smith "front and center".

[77] The video interpolates archival footage of past football matches, including the infamous scene of Italian footballer Roberto Baggio missing the decisive penalty in the shootout of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final against Brazil, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final at the beginning of the video.

[82] It also features appearances by footballers Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Carlos Kameni, Lionel Messi and Rafael Marquez.

[77] Adam Fairholm from IMVDb praised the dance sequences and wrote that while Shakira was "great," the best part of the music video were the appearances by Freshlyground, the children, and the footballers.

He praised Raboy for "making everyone seem like a big, happy family" and felt the video was adequately representative of South African culture.

[85] For the performances, Shakira was dressed in a black and white zebra-print jumpsuit coupled with a silk-fringed skirt and bracelets made of brown leather and silver pearls.

[84] Although critical of Cavalli's costume, Los Angeles Times critic Ann Powers complimented Shakira's performance of the three songs and commended her incorporation of native dancers and musicians in the show, writing: "It was just a symbolic gesture, but a strong one in this evening-long review of pop music's journey from Africa to every corner of the earth, and back.

"[85] Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez, and Claudia Leitte's headlining performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony was negatively compared to Shakira's as fans found the former's show disappointing in comparison to the latter's.

[88] Shakira's costume was designed by Cavalli again and consisted of a tulle top, a silk-fringed skirt with floral motifs and a denim belt.

[95] It has been proclaimed as one of the best FIFA World Cup songs of all time by publications including Billboard, Dallas Observer and The Sydney Morning Herald.

[99] In an interview in 2014, Shakira spoke about the importance of the song in her life as she met Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué during the filming of the video, with whom she pursued a romantic relationship and had two sons.

[101] The song was featured in the video game Just Dance 2018 and was also included in a medley sung by Shakira in the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in February 2020.