Despite playing for one of world football's perennial minnows, a New Zealand star has had a remarkable rise to fame ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
A 32 year-old journeyman, who currently plies his trade for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League, Tim Payne has shot to prominence ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Read on as we explore who Tim Payne is, as well as why and how he has shot to internet stardom.
Who is Tim Payne?
Tim Payne is a 32 year-old midfielder, who currently plays for A-League side Wellington Phoenix.
A 50-cap New Zealand international, Payne has been named in New Zealand's squad for the 2026 World Cup, which will see the Oceanic nation compete in the world's showpiece for the first time since 2010 - and for only the third time ever.
Payne has spent the majority of his career in his native New Zealand, with stints at various clubs across the A-League, though he has also represented English side Blackburn Rovers and MLS side Portland Timbers in his career.
Having progressed through the ranks at Auckland City, he represented New Zealand at all age grades, before making his senior international debut in 2012.
Why and how has Tim Payne become famous?
Tim Payne has been the beneficiary of the current social media age, rapidly increasing followers thanks to an internet trend led by a content creator.
Argentine content creator Valentín Scarsini, known as 'El Scarso', began a campaign to find the "least known" footballer competing at the 2026 World Cup.
In one of his videos, Scarsini stated: "The World Cup is just around the corner, and we're all eager to cheer on our national team. But what if there was a player who united us all, someone we could support regardless of our nationality? What if we made the least-known player the star of the World Cup?"
After a period of searching, his viewers landed upon the New Zealand man, who at the time had just 4,000 followers on instagram.
Fast forward a few days and the trend led to his following increasing by over 100,000%, rising to over 4.7m people.
The increase has had an impact, not just on Payne as an individual, but also his national team, with significantly more eyes now on the New Zealand national team ahead of their World Cup warm up fixtures.
New Zealand have been drawn in a tough group for the World Cup, with difficult matches against Belgium, Egypt and Iran to overcome if they are to make it through to the knockout stages.
