Who Is Tim Payne? How a New Zealand Defender Became a World Cup Folk Hero

Tim Payne isn’t the best player at the World Cup. He’s not playing for a contender, and he doesn’t play for a globally famous club team. All of that is exactly why he has gained over three million followers in less than a week.

The 32-year-old New Zealand utility player is bound for this summer’s tournament as his nation returns to soccer’s greatest stage for the first time since 2010. The right back plays his club soccer for the Australian A-League’s lone New Zealand club, the Wellington Phoenix, but has become the folk hero of this summer’s tournament already.

An Argentine soccer influencer, Valen Scarsini, made a video suggesting that Payne might be the least known player at the World Cup and encouraging his followers to follow him and comment on his posts. The veteran defender quickly rose to overnight fame.

“We have to start mentioning Tim Payne everywhere … We have to make videos featuring the legend of Tim Payne. We have to get Tim Payne on everyone’s lips,” Scarsini in his initial English video, before making a similar one in Spanish.

“The goal before the World Cup is to see how many people know Tim Payne before the Cup starts. We have to build a good fanbase to cheer for him. I have faith [New Zealand] can go through.”

Tim Payne Gets Song and More Followers than NHL, MLB teams

Since the rush of followers, Payne has become one of the most popular players in this World Cup, with many comments joking that the tournament is defined by his presence, not by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, Christian Pulisic or others.

The phrase No Payne, No Gain has gone viral alongside images of the versatile player, and a seemingly AI-generated song has accompanied many viral videos, with the Spanish lyrics comparing him to Ángel Di María and touting him as a legend that a grandfather once spoke of.

“It’s been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least. I just wanted to also express that I’m very grateful to be representing my country at this World Cup, and I appreciate all the love from around the world,” Payne posted to his Instagram, adding that he is not the biggest user of social media, so the explosion came as a shock. “Muchas Gracias.”

With his viral outbreak, Payne now has more followers (3.9 million at the time of writing) than the New Zealand Football Association and is more followed on the platform than any NHL team, while trailing only the LA Dodgers and New York Yankees in MLB.

As for the least-followed player at the World Cup? Among those already named to official squads, Curaçao backup goalkeeper Trevor Doornbusch has just 1,700, 11 days before his nation becomes the smallest to ever play at a World Cup.

A Tim Payne Coffee Shop?

Payne’s New Zealand has suddenly become a hot ticket. His nation will open the World Cup against Iran in Los Angeles on June 15, before playing their final two Group G games at Vancouver’s BC Place against Egypt and Belgium on June 21 and June 26.

The Vancouver crowds are expected to be rowdy, with a large Kiwi and Australian community embracing Canada’s west coast mountains as a work opportunity. Australia, meanwhile, will open the tournament against Türkiye in Vancouver on June 13.

How big could Payne’s popularity get? There seems to be no limit. Yet, there are now New Zealand supporters lobbying famed Canadian coffee shop chain Tim Horton’s to rename a Vancouver location “Tim Payne’s” in honor of the now-famed defender.

Tim Horton’s, which has 48 locations in Vancouver and many near the stadium, has already embraced the World Cup, promoting a Tastes of the Globe lineup for their famous donut holes, called Timbits. In the past, they have temporarily renamed menu items for sports as well, with the Boston Cream donut often renamed when local teams face Boston teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs and MLB postseason.

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