The life of Tim Payne, who plays in the World Cup team of New Zealand, changed in just days.
Tim Payne became famous. PDO
A 32-year-old New Zealand linebacker playing in the Australian Premier League.
With a quick description, you wouldn’t think that the defender Tim Payne is one of the most talked about names of the entire tournament during the World Cup.
Payne has not become popular because of his football displays – quite the opposite. Argentine soccer influencer Valen Scarsini introduced the New Zealander in his video at the end of May, and Payne’s phone started ringing at an amazing rate.
Scarsini stated in his video that Payne may well be the least known of all the players at the World Cup. He urged his million-plus Instagram followers to follow Payne in the service, and the loyal crowd did as they were told.
– We need to start mentioning Tim Payne everywhere. We need to make videos where his story comes out. He must be on everyone’s lips, Scarsini said in his English-language video.
– My goal is to see how many people know Tim Payne before the World Cup. He needs to build a good group of supporters who can cheer him on in the tournament. I have faith that they [Uusi-Seelanti] can continue from the initial block phase.
Payne will represent his home country New Zealand at the summer World Cup. PDO
The number of followers of Payne, who plays for the Wellington Phoenix in the Australian premier league, grew from about 4,000 followers to a staggering 4.9 million within days. Now Payne’s own account is the second most followed sports account in all of New Zealand. Only UFC star Israel Adesanya is ahead, followed by around 8.2 million accounts.
Payne now has more followers than, say, every NHL club. Among the Buckeye teams, the most popular on Instagram is the Pittsburgh Penguins, followed by 2.8 million accounts.
Payne had Scarsini to thank for the sudden publicity. The opportunity for thanks was offered when the two met for the first time at New Zealand’s World Cup training camp in Florida on Wednesday. Payne thanked Scarsini for his support and presented him with an autographed jersey.
– This is obviously good for me and for New Zealand football as a whole. It puts us in the spotlight, which is positive, but at the same time, at least I’m not changing.
– I’m still the same person as before, and I’m just trying to do what I know how to do, which is to play football. I focus on being able to perform for my home country.
The sudden exposure to the spotlight may bring the necessary spark of hope to the team, as they lost the first of their two pre-tournament matches to Haiti 0-4. In the latter, it faces rock-hard England.
In the initial group phase of the World Cup, the country plays in Group G together with Belgium, Iran and Egypt.