Tim Payne celebrates after scoring a goal for the Wellington Phoenix in 2024.
Photo: Photosport
A World Cup-bound All Whites footballer’s Instagram profile is growing at an incredible rate, following an Argentinian influencer’s call to make something of what he called the World Cup’s “least-known player”.
Valen Scarsini claimed after analysing all the players in each squad, that New Zealander Tim Payne’s 4700-strong Instagram count needed a boost.
Speaking in Spanish to his millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, Scarsini urged them to make Payne a World Cup hero.
New Zealand footballer Tim Payne’s Instagram has exploded in popularity.
Photo: Instagram
“Tim Payne is a defender and has a very difficult task: help New Zealand win their first World Cup match. They have never won one.
“Explode his posts with likes and comments. We need to start naming Tim Payne everywhere.
“You have to make videos feeding the legend of Tim Payne. If you have the World Cup album, upload a photo with your sticker.”
Scarsini’s call has seen Payne’s Instagram profile amass followers at an alarming rate. Early Friday morning, Payne’s follower count was rising at 1000 a minute, and was on track to break the 1 million mark that day.
Payne’s last post was in March, when he played his 50th game for New Zealand in a FIFA World Series match. The post has now been viewed more than 500,000 times and attracted nearly 70,000 comments.
New Zealand’s Tim Payne (R) during New Zealand vs Chile, FIFA Series Tournament at Eden Park, Auckland, 2026: Photosport via AFP.
Photo: WWW.PHOTOSPORT.CL
Scarsini has since revealed that Payne has been in touch to thank him.
“Was wondering why my socials were blowing up and found your post, man,” wrote Payne. “Appreciate the love! Gracias, hermano.”
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