Seventy two hours on, the Tim Payne World Cup story is still the most remarkable thing in football — and it just keeps getting better.
Three days ago Tim Payne had 4,715 Instagram followers. Today he has 2.4 million – and Latin America has written him a song.
What began as a simple social media campaign by Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini has morphed into something nobody, least of all Payne himself, could have predicted. The numbers keep climbing by the hour, but it’s the details around the edges of this story that tell you just how deep the phenomenon has gone. Argentine clothing stores are printing and selling Tim Payne T-shirts. Global brands including Duolingo, KFC and McDonald’s have piled into his comments. A full song has been composed in his honour. For a right back from Auckland who was playing A-League football in near-total obscurity a week ago, it’s a lot to process.
Payne addressed his new army of fans in a video that itself racked up over millions of views. Opening in Spanish – with a nod to Duolingo – he told supporters: “It’s been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least. I just wanted to express that I’m very grateful to represent my country at this World Cup, and I appreciate all the love from all around the world.”
The question now being asked is whether this is more than just a viral moment. Scarsini has form here – he ran a similar campaign for Central American forward Andrés “El Toro” Jiménez, who went from 900 followers to 176,000 and subsequently received offers from First Division clubs. If social media reach translates to real professional opportunity for Payne too, this story takes on a significance well beyond the feel-good novelty of it.
Tim Payne World Cup following tops one million as viral sensation gathers steam
New Zealand face Iran on June 15, with friendlies against Haiti and England coming before that. When Payne trots out at right back, 2.4 million people who had never heard his name five days ago will be watching. That, in itself, is the most remarkable football story of this World Cup – and the ball hasn’t even been kicked yet.
