New Zealand defender Tim Payne has seen his social media following skyrocket from fewer than 5,000 to over a million after an Argentinian influencer launched a campaign to make him a World Cup hero.
Football influencer Valen Scarsini, known as El Scarso, identified the 32-year-old Wellington Phoenix player as the least-known footballer at the upcoming World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico. He urged his 500,000 followers to boost Payne's profile, leading to a surge of nearly 1,000 new Instagram followers per minute.
Payne, who has earned 50 caps for New Zealand since his debut at age 18, now has six times more followers than the All Whites' captain and star striker Chris Wood. A song supporting Payne, with the chorus in Spanish, has also emerged, including the line 'no Payne, no gain.'
Payne responded to the campaign on Friday, saying: 'I just want to say a massive thank you first to you Valen. It’s been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least. I’m very grateful to be representing my country and I appreciate all the love from all around the world.'
New Zealand, making their third World Cup appearance, have yet to win a match in the tournament. They are drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Iran and Egypt.
