ALBAWABA - The third round of the World Cup group stage has six matches scheduled everyday, making tuning for each one feel like a full time job - for these fans; it is.
Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin, two world cup fans, are getting paid $50,000 to watch every World Cup match, each of the 104 matches, in a glass cubicle on Times Square.
The custom-built cubicle in Times Square, New York, has recliners, a matching brown leather sofa, two large screen televisions, a foosball table, as well as football merchandise and snacks to make this feel like a real hardcore fan zone.
Kevin, who’s a line cook from Florida, tells BBC: “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,”. Kevin had thousands lining up to have his job so he seemed ecstatic that he was chosen for it.
Austin on the other hand has had the job taking a toll on him, telling BBC: “It is a total marathon. It's a relatively easy job, I'm sitting on a couch watching football, but it has been tiresome and I'm making sure I'm getting my eight hours when I can.” He also compared the job to a summer camp where the days start blending into each other.
Mercifully, the job doesn’t require them to sleep in the glass cubicle; instead they clock out and clock back in when it’s time to watch a match.
In between matches, they’ve entertained themselves by interacting with fans from around the world celebrating the World Cup in Times Square, from thousands of Brazilians who flooded the Square to the Norwegians who performed their famous Viking rowing celebration there.
"The craziest part of it is how frequently I forget that I'm in Times Square with people watching me. I'll be watching a match for 10, 15 minutes and get sucked into it and I look to my right and see Kevin and see all these people walking around Times Square and you totally forget." said Austin.
People’s opinions differed on this seemingly dream job, 18-year-old Matthew Mendez tells the BBC spending the time with friends or family would be a better way to experience the World Cup - But 20-year-old Miguel Sanchez can't believe their luck: "What? It's even better than going in person, getting paid to watch the World Cup, that's crazy, that's really crazy."
