‘The perfect job’: meet the followers being paid to look at all 104 World Cup video games in Times Square | World Cup 2026

When Kevin Kotoko heard that he had been chosen as one among Fox’s chief World Cup watchers he had no hesitation in accepting. What self-respecting soccer fan might flip down the chance to be paid $50,000 (£37,000) to soak up all 104 video games at this World Cup, in any case?

The solely points had been that he must watch each match in a custom-built viewing dice within the coronary heart of Times Square and let his employers know that he wouldn’t be coming in for work the following day. “I quit my job,” admits Kotoko, a Liverpool fan who’s from Florida and was working as a waiter in a restaurant. “I found out on Thursday that I had won the competition and so I told them on Friday that would be my last day!”

He is sharing the large fishbowl for the following six weeks with Austin Franklin after they had been chosen from 1000’s of candidates who uploaded movies on social media pitching for the function. Both are anticipated to “create social media content, record their reactions, and engage with fans” all through the match as a part of the deal.

According to Franklin, who describes himself as an influencer from Philadelphia, it has been a surreal however gratifying expertise thus far.

“It has really felt a bit like being on the Truman Show,” Franklin says. “I forget at times that we’re here. I’m watching a game for minutes and then I look over at Kevin and I see people on top of me. It’s like: ‘Oh my God!’ There’s 30 people watching us, watching games, most of the time. It is a weird experience.”

Kotoko provides: “We’re trying to stay authentic in the process of the job, I guess. So it’s finding that balance between making sure we’re engaged with the game, but also showcasing what we’re doing.”

Their presence in one of many metropolis’s busiest thoroughfares has definitely attracted loads of curiosity. One curious onlooker was overheard asking whether or not they’re residing within the dice for the entire match, whereas Franklin reveals that the commonest query they’ve been requested is the place do they go to the bathroom. “I like the idea of finding it,” Franklin says. “That’s kind of fun for me. I’ve got 15 minutes to be, like, ‘all right, let’s see where I can find me a bathroom today.’”

There are amenities on the swanky resort each are staying at across the nook, with meals impressed by every taking part nation additionally being served up contained in the dice. When the Guardian visited for the opening match of the match between Mexico and South Africa, there was a carnival ambiance outdoors because the co-hosts swept to a convincing victory and each watchers partied on the streets afterwards.

“There was a woman who sat right behind me in one of those chairs for the entire 90 minutes, and I went up to her and said: ‘Thank you so much for your time’,” says Franklin. “I gave her a big hug, and she told me about how she was born in Mexico, moved to New York, and used to watch all the Mexico games with her dad. Her dad passed away a few years ago, so I was like: ‘You’re going to make me cry’. So now I’m like that’s a team that I want to do well. You feel this connection and that’s what the World Cup is all about.”

Both have excessive hopes for the United States too after their wonderful begin towards Paraguay. “I think the expectation is they can get into the quarter-finals at least. Then, who knows?” says Kotoko. “This is our golden generation so I think you should put that pressure on them.”

The unprecedented and unrelenting schedule of the expanded 48-team match means this might be a marathon and never a dash. For the following three weeks there are 4 video games on daily basis stretching throughout three time zones because the group levels proceed and each are absolutely conscious of the problem that schedule will pose.

“I think it’s just, like, trying to feed ourselves and making sure that we’re trying to keep the energy up, making sure we’re taking care of ourselves,” says Kotoko, who can be hoping that Ghana could make an impression at this World Cup, having been born there.

“I mean, I’m sitting on a couch, watching football. It’s pretty fun,” says Franklin. “There is something about the spirit of the World Cup that takes over. We have pretty much the perfect job.”