MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - In anticipation of one of the biggest sporting events in the world, Fox Sports gave a preview of the studio they will be using to provide live coverage for millions of fans, starting on Friday.
The entire studio, which was built almost overnight, is set up in Miami Beach between Seventh and Eighth Street.
Fox Sports live productions mastermind, Rod Conti, gave 7News a behind-the-scenes look around their creation on the South Beach sands.
“We’re a year out from the launch to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place here in the United States, Mexico and Canada,” said Conti.
On Friday, Fox Sports will host its “FIFA World Cup ’26: One Year To Go” special to officially begin the countdown to the biggest stage in sports.
“We’ll have lots of guests. We’ll have FIFA legends, we’ll have soccer legends, as well as our own Fox legends,” said Conti.
The main set they’ll be using has a creative design, with the World Cup in mind.
“This is our main set. You can see, it’s a unique structure, it’s sort of round, it was designed to look like a soccer ball coming out of the sand,” said Conti.
Sports won’t be the only thing happening at the studio. Country music star Shaboozey will also be performing on a separate stage to kick off the sports special.
“We’re gonna have Shaboozey performing and setting off the party, playing a couple of songs in the beginning, a couple of songs at the end,” said Conti.
The performance by the Billboard Music Award winner will be free for fans to attend.
“We’re looking at 150 million people potentially watching next year so we thought, ‘What else? Come down to Miami Beach, have a party, celebrate it,'” said Conti.
Though the World Cup is still a year away, Conti said the excitement for it is immeasurable for both a city as diverse as Miami and for the U.S., which hasn’t played host to an event of this size in several years.
“One of our most international and fun cities that represents a world event like this. We’re looking ahead early because this is, really, the largest sporting event to come to the states in two decades,” said Conti.
“FIFA World Cup ’26: One Year To Go” will air on Fox at 8 p.m. on Friday. Fans interested in attending the show may want to arrive early before it begins.
Officials confirmed Brazilian soccer stars Kaká and Marcelo are among the special guests for Friday night’s show.
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