Chief World Cup observers Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin celebrate a goal during the FIFA World Cup semi-final match between England and Argentina REUTERS/John Sibley World Cup fanatics Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin made every football fan's dream come true this year: watching every match of the tournament from start to finish — and getting paid for it. The “heads of observation” at North American broadcaster Fox One will add an unusual experience to their CVs when the final whistle blows for Sunday's match between Spain and Argentina. They watched the 104 games of the tournament, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, held every four years. “My dad makes a living cleaning up oil spills,” said Franklin, a digital influencer who lives in Los Angeles. “I stay here with my friend Kevin, watch all these games and still have the opportunity to interact with the fans.” Cape Verde player was called up by LinkedIn, and is now competing in the World Cup. The duo spends match days sitting inside a glass cube in Times Square. The attraction works almost like a human aquarium: those who pass by usually stop to watch them and, in some cases, even drag chairs to watch the games shown on the TVs installed in the space. Each of the two receives US$50,000 (the equivalent of around R$254,000) for work during the tournament. Throughout the World Cup, Akoto and Franklin also produced content for social media, commenting on the matches and interacting with their followers. “If we learned anything from this World Cup, it’s that people are increasingly consuming sports through social media,” said Akoto, who left his job as a cook in Florida to take on the role. “What draws the most attention behind the scenes is the way people are consuming sports content.” Akoto and Franklin say they would take the job again — even if the World Cup goes from 48 to 64 teams, a possibility that FIFA intends to discuss after the tournament. “I don’t think we’re tired of watching football yet,” Franklin said. “As many games as they want to give us, we will watch.” Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin REUTERS/John Sibley