New York has been fully consumed by World Cup fever this summer. Watch parties have been scattered throughout the city, but no viewing experience has been quite as unique as that of Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin, who are Fox One’s Chief World Cup Watchers.
The pair of soccer fans were given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch all 104 World Cup games from the comfort of a clear box in the middle of Times Square. Although they will have access to state-of-the-art televisions and surround sound systems to watch the games, snacks to enjoy while indulging in the world’s biggest sporting events, and an assortment of toys and games to pass the time in between fixtures, the most enticing aspect of this experience is the $50,000 reward that comes with it.
Fox One collaborated with Indeed, the multinational employment website, to find the right people to fill this role during the World Cup.
“I thought this was a great opportunity, I took out the phone, started recording, made a video, went through Indeed, and put the application in,” Akoto said. “After weeks and weeks of waiting got the email that the good people at Fox wanted to meet with me, and from then on it’s been a wonderful adventure.”
This year’s World Cup is especially time-consuming because it spans four time zones. Akoto and Franklin had to make sacrifices in their schedule to ensure that they would be ready for late-night kick-offs.
“I quit my job to be here, so it’s completely changing my schedule to be here, and also going through the mentality, this is a marathon, not a sprint, making sure that you take just taking it one day at a time,” Akoto commented.
“The only thing I had to work around was a bachelor party and a wedding, but thankfully, my buddies were excited for me to have the opportunity and said that I couldn’t miss doing this, and that you know I have plenty of money for their wedding gifts now, so it’s good,” Franklin added.
Part of the reason both of these fans were chosen is that they have experience with content creation. Both have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple platforms, and their social media presence has only grown since the beginning of this new job.
“It’s great for visibility, more people, not just in the US but around the world, can see what we’re doing, can see the unique things that we’re doing, it just gives us more visibility,” Akoto said.
Sitting in the middle of Times Square, the “Cube” attracts a lot of attention throughout the day, especially during the matches. The Chief World Cup Watchers have had the chance to connect with fans from all over the world throughout this tournament because of the hyper visibility of their soccer fan home.
“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,” Franklin joked.
Although they spend most of their time being ogled through the glass, they do get to have some personal experiences with fans as well.
“I just think having everyone congregate in Times Square has been the coolest experience for whatever reason. Anybody who has a match in the in in New York decides to have like a big party in Times Square, and thankfully, we get to be here to go celebrate it with them, and that’s been my favorite part of all of it,” Franklin added.
“Being told that I have a Brazilian spirit and getting gifted a Brazilian ultras Jersey by a Brazilian fan, it’s tough to top that. I mean, that was like the coolest World Cup experience ever,” he said.
The pair also discussed how social media campaigns like theirs can contribute to the growth of the game in the United States.
“Back in ‘94 when the World Cup was played here social media wasn’t a thing so we couldn’t see what was really going on throughout the country,” Akoto said. “But now 2026 you know we get to see how the Japanese fans are liking barbecue we get to see the Scottish people taking over Boston, drinking all their beer so it’s definitely great that a lot of people can see basically the community that soccer builds and I feel like that’s gonna help uh grow the game in this country more.”
Whether it is watching the intense Golden Boot race or cheering on the United States Men’s National team, Akoto and Franklin will do so in one of the most unique ways this summer.
