An Australian man is being paid thousands of dollars to watch the World Cup inside a giant football equipped with a well-stocked fridge, a games console and a bed.
Adam Santarossa, 23, says his friends are jealous after he won a competition to become Australia’s ‘Man in the Ball’. He is spending the month-long tournament watching football, tweeting and writing blogs inside the six-meter diameter Jabulani ball, a replica soccer ball on the public promenade in Melbourne – and collect $3000 cash for his trouble.
The competition was run through the Australian edition of soccer magazine Four Four Two and designed to promote a sporting goods brand. Santarossa has to spend a minimum of 22 hours a day in the ball, only been allowed out for toilet breaks, food and a bit of exercise. The giant Jabulani, which is a bit harder to kick than the real ball, weighs in at two tonnes, is 6m high and 6m wide, a scale of 30:1 over the actual Jabulani.
