"We have to start mentioning Tim Payne everywhere." That's how it started — one Argentine influencer, one video, and suddenly a 32-year-old Wellington Phoenix defender is more followed on Instagram than every NHL team.
Argentine soccer creator Valen Scarsini posted a video arguing that Payne might be the least-known player at this summer's World Cup, and challenged his audience to follow the New Zealand right back and flood his comments. Within 48 hours, Payne's follower count exploded. Within a week, he had 3.9 million — more than the New Zealand Football Association, more than any NHL franchise, and trailing only the LA Dodgers and New York Yankees in MLB.
For context: Payne plays his club football in the A-League for the Wellington Phoenix. He is not a Messi. He is not a Ronaldo. That's entirely the point.
No Payne, No Gain
The phrase has gone viral. An AI-generated song with Spanish lyrics — comparing him to Ángel Di María, calling him a legend grandparents once spoke of — has soundtracked dozens of clips. The World Cup comment sections have been rewritten: apparently this tournament isn't about Lamine Yamal or Christian Pulisic. It's about Tim Payne.
Payne himself seems genuinely blindsided. "It's been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least," he posted to Instagram, noting he's not exactly a heavy social media user. He signed off with "Muchas Gracias" — a small nod to the Spanish-speaking audience that made him famous overnight.
New Zealand opens Group G against Iran in Los Angeles on June 15, then face Egypt and Belgium in Vancouver on June 21 and June 26. Those Vancouver matches were already shaping up to be lively — large Kiwi and Australian communities have settled on Canada's west coast — but now they carry a circus element that no group stage fixture at this level usually gets.
Tim Hortons Next?
New Zealand supporters are now lobbying Tim Hortons — which has 48 locations in Vancouver — to temporarily rename one of them "Tim Payne's" ahead of the group stage games. The Canadian chain has form for this kind of stunt, regularly renaming menu items during playoff runs. A World Cup tie-in wouldn't be a stretch.
Meanwhile, the actual least-followed player at this World Cup? That title now belongs to Curaçao backup goalkeeper Trevor Doornbusch — 1,700 followers, 11 days before his nation becomes the smallest ever to play at a World Cup. Scarsini's next project has practically written itself.
