Why are two fans getting $50,000 to watch every World Cup match?

For U.S. soccer fans, the World Cup has turned Times Square into more than a tourist stop. It has become a live stage for how the sport is being sold, shared and celebrated across the country. Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin are being paid $50,000 each as Fox One's "Chief World Cup Watchers," a role that requires them to watch all 104 World Cup matches from a glass cube in New York City and create content along the way. Their assignment blends fan culture, social media and a massive summer sports schedule into one very public job.

Behind the Headlines

The job is unusual because it takes a private fan habit and puts it under glass. The BBC describes the pair's custom-built cubicle as a fan-style living room with recliners, a brown leather sofa, two large television screens, a foosball table, snacks and football merchandise. Goal.com reported that the cube measures 32 by 16 feet and includes two 85-inch TV screens, soundbars and subwoofers.

Fox One worked with Indeed to find people for the role, according to amNewYork. Akoto, a line cook from Florida, and Franklin, an influencer from Philadelphia, beat out thousands of applicants. Their background matters because the job is not only about watching soccer. They are expected to react, engage fans in Times Square and create social content around the tournament.

Chief World Cup Watcher

A promotional Fox One role built around watching every match and turning that viewing experience into public fan content.

The Cube

The clear Times Square viewing space where Akoto and Franklin spend their shifts during the tournament.

Here's What Happened

The World Cup schedule is heavy, with six matches a day until the end of the group stage, according to the BBC. That makes the assignment closer to an endurance test than a casual watch party. The pair are expected to follow every fixture, across time zones, while remaining visible to fans who gather outside the glass.

Akoto told amNewYork that he applied through Indeed after seeing the opportunity and later received an email from Fox. He also said the role changed his life schedule dramatically because he quit his job to take part. Franklin said he had to work around a bachelor party and a wedding, but his friends encouraged him to take the chance.

The schedule has already taken a toll. The BBC reported that Akoto and Franklin do not sleep in the glass box; they leave at the end of shifts to recharge. Goal.com added that Fox put them in a nearby hotel, and the two commute each day through Times Square before settling into the cube.

There are perks, too. The BBC reported that the pair watched Lionel Messi break the all-time World Cup scoring record while eating Argentinian barbecue. They have also been served food tied to countries competing in the tournament, adding a cultural layer to the viewing experience rather than making it just a long run of matches.

Voices & Opinions

Akoto described the cube to the BBC as the kind of room a young soccer fan would dream up. That line captures why the story has traveled: it looks like a fantasy job, but the daily grind is real.

It's like any 20-year-old's imagination, if you could put anything in here, this is what you'd put in as a soccer fan,

Franklin has leaned into the spectacle. He joked to amNewYork that being inside the Cube feels like being a small fish in an aquarium while people watch. Goal.com also reported that Franklin and Akoto started with one espresso each and moved up to four as the tournament pace intensified.

I'm like a little fish in an aquarium, just kind of swimming around, letting people watch me. Sometimes, they feed me too, so it's been pretty good,

Not every fan sees the job as pure luck. BBC spoke with Norway fan Eimund Liland and his daughter Camille, who viewed watching all 104 matches without much privacy as an "overdose." Another fan, Miguel Sanchez, reacted very differently, calling the idea of being paid to watch the World Cup "crazy."

The Bigger Picture

The campaign shows how sports viewing is becoming content in itself. Akoto and Franklin are not hidden in a studio; they are part of the street scene, surrounded by supporters from Brazil, Norway, Mexico, Scotland, France and other countries named in the source reports. Times Square gives the World Cup a public U.S. backdrop, and the cube turns fan reaction into a live attraction.

For soccer in the United States, that visibility matters. Akoto told amNewYork that social media makes this World Cup different from 1994 because people can now see fan communities across the country in real time. He pointed to Japanese fans trying barbecue and Scottish fans taking over Boston as examples of the community the sport can build.

There is also a labor angle behind the fun. The $50,000 payment is eye-catching, but the role demands 39 days of attention, content creation, public engagement and constant schedule adjustment. Watching soccer is the headline; performing fandom is the job.

The Road Ahead

Akoto and Franklin still have more matches to watch before the tournament ends. Akoto told the BBC he is backing Spain while also supporting the U.S. and Ghana because of his roots. Franklin has been wearing Norway's jersey, citing how Norway and Erling Haaland have played so far.

The cube will keep drawing fans as long as the World Cup schedule keeps feeding Times Square. For the two watchers, the challenge is simple and demanding at the same time: stay awake, stay social and keep turning matches into moments.