Who is Tim Payne and Why did he become Famous?

bet365 News Team Updated: 13 hours ago

The New Zealand player has become a social media sensation. Here's how it happened.

Tim Payne is a 32-year-old New Zealand footballer who plays as a midfielder for Wellington Phoenix in the Australian A-League. He is also a member of the New Zealand national team and is set to compete in the upcoming World Cup.

Payne has spent most of his career in New Zealand, though he has had stints abroad. His international experience includes time in England's second division with Blackburn Rovers and in the United States' second tier with the Portland Timbers 2.

How Did Tim Payne Become Famous?

Social media is responsible for transforming Payne from a relatively unknown athlete into a viral phenomenon in just a matter of days.

The catalyst for this sudden fame was Argentine content creator Valentín Scarsini, known as "El Scarso." He launched a campaign to find the "least known" player participating in the 2026 World Cup.

"The World Cup is just a few days away, and we're all eager to cheer for our national teams," Scarsini proposed in one of his videos. "But what if there was a player who could unite us all, someone to support regardless of nationality? What if we turned the least-known player in the World Cup into one of the tournament's main characters?"

His audience took it from there. Just a few days ago, the New Zealand right-back had around 4,000 followers on Instagram. Today, that number has skyrocketed to approximately 4.5 million.