AAP Soccer

From low-key Kiwi to global internet soccer sensation

By AAP Newswire

Aug 14, 2026

Overnight sensation Tim Payne, scoring in the Olimpia shirt that's become centre of a bidding war. -AP

Just a few months ago, few soccer fans outside New Zealand knew the name of A-League Men's stalwart Tim Payne. Now they are bidding thousands of dollars for the jersey off his back.

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The shirt Payne wore in his debut for Club Olimpia, a Paraguayan soccer powerhouse, has become a coveted piece of match-worn memorabilia since the club put it up for auction online five days ago.

With bidding set to close on Thursday, the leading offer has climbed above 21 million guarani in Paraguay, equivalent to around $4600.

It's the latest unlikely development in the extraordinary rise of the 32-year-old defender, who entered the World Cup with just over 4000 followers on Instagram and emerged as one of the tournament's biggest social media sensations.

Before representing New Zealand at the World Cup, Payne had spent most of his career, playing for low-profile clubs in New Zealand.

He also spent two years with England's Blackburn Rovers but never made a major appearance because of work-permit problems.

Then Argentine soccer influencer Valen Scarsini, known online as El Scarso, went searching for what he called the World Cup's "least-known soccer player."

Scarsini settled on Payne, whose Instagram account had 4715 followers at the time, and encouraged his more than two million followers across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to follow Payne, flood his posts with supportive comments and mention his name everywhere.

Within days, Payne's following sky-rocketed, eventually topping 5.4 million â€” more than the entire population of his native New Zealand.

The surge in online fame helped carry Payne to Paraguay, where he signed with national club champions Olimpia on a one-year deal in June, ending a seven-year stint with Wellington Phoenix in the A-League Men.

Payne gave legions of new fans another reason to cheer him during his August 2 debut against Asuncion club Rubio Nu, scoring minutes after coming off the bench to help Olimpia win 5-0.

Now the signed jersey from that match is drawing the sort of interest usually reserved for far more established names.

"I know exactly what it means to wear these stripes and play in this shirt, and that's why I want to give it to a true Olimpista (Olimpia fan)," Payne said in a video launching the auction.