Tim Payne (footballer)
New Zealand footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timothy John Payne (born 10 January 1994) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a defender for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League and for the New Zealand national team.[3] He will join Olimpia in the División de Honor after the FIFA World Cup.
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Payne in 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Timothy John Payne[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 10 January 1994[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Positions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Olimpia | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Auckland City | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Auckland City | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Waitakere United | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Blackburn Rovers | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Auckland City | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Portland Timbers 2 | 22 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Eastern Suburbs | 51 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2026 | Wellington Phoenix | 143 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | Olimpia | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | New Zealand U17 | 9 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | New Zealand U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | New Zealand U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012– | New Zealand | 53 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 April 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 June 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||
A noted utility player, Payne has played almost every outfield position during his career.[4]
Club career
Auckland City and Waitakere United
Born in Auckland, Payne attended Sacred Heart College and started his youth career with ASB Premiership club Auckland City before switching to play for rivals Waitakere United. Payne played a major role in Waitakere United's success in the ASB National Youth League in 2010.[5]
Blackburn Rovers
After impressing at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup Payne trialled with Premier League side Blackburn Rovers and then spent several months training at the club.[6] Days after celebrating his 18th birthday Payne signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Rovers in January 2012.[7] Due to work permit issues that prevented him from playing for Rovers, he was released at the end of his contract.
Wellington Phoenix
In July 2019, Payne signed a one-year contract with A-League side Wellington Phoenix.[8] Payne made his A-League debut for the Phoenix in the first match of the 2019–20 season in a 0–1 defeat against Western United on 13 October 2019 — Payne was substituted in for Louis Fenton in the 68th minute.[9] On 3 January 2020, it was announced that Payne had signed a two-year contract extension with the Phoenix.[10] On 10 June 2020, Payne pleaded guilty to a drink-driving charge after a shirtless late-night joy ride in a golf cart in Sydney while the team was supposed to be in self-isolation. He was subsequently ordered by the court to pay a AUS$700 fine.[11]
On 4 November 2023, in his 93rd appearance for the Phoenix, Payne scored his first goal for the club following an overlapping run and a well-taken finish with his weaker left foot. The Phoenix defeated Brisbane Roar 5–2 at Sky Stadium, Wellington.[12] Payne scored a career-high 3 goals in 23 appearances during the 2023–24 season.
During the 2024–25 season, Payne made 20 appearances in the league. He scored one goal during the season, scoring in a 2–0 win against Perth Glory at HBF Park, Perth, on 26 October 2024.[13] On 17 December 2024, Payne signed a new three-year contract with the Phoenix, until the end of the 2027–28 season.[14]
In the 2025–26 season, Payne made 14 appearances in the A-League Men and 2 appearances in the Australia Cup. On 26 October 2025, Payne suffered a broken collarbone in a 2–1 win against the Brisbane Roar in Wellington.[15]
Club Olimpia
On 19 June 2026, the Wellington Phoenix announced that they had accepted an undisclosed transfer fee for Payne from Paraguayan División de Honor side Olimpia.[16][17] The transfer is subject to Payne completing a medical after the World Cup, with the fee believed to be in the vicinity of $500,000.[18][19]
International career
Payne represented New Zealand at Under-17 level. He played 90 minutes in each of his sides four matches at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
In May 2012, Payne received a call-up from Ricki Herbert to the senior national team alongside fellow youngster and U-17 teammate Cameron Howieson.[20] He made his first appearance in a 1–0 win against Honduras on 26 May 2012, coming on as a substitute for Leo Bertos and playing the final 15 minutes of the match.[21] He subsequently made an appearance off the bench in the OFC Nations Cup 2012. Payne was named in New Zealand's team for the 2012 Olympics.
On 30 March 2026, Payne received his 50th cap for the All Whites in a 4–1 win over Chile as part of the 2026 FIFA Series.[22] With this win, New Zealand achieved their first ever win against a South American national team.[23][24]
On 14 May 2026, Payne was announced to be in the New Zealand squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[25]
Personal life
On 28 May 2026, Payne became the target of a viral social media campaign by Argentinian influencer Valen Scarsini, who directed his followers to support Tim Payne specifically as the "least known" player at the World Cup.[26] As a result, Payne's Instagram follower count grew from under 5,000 to more than 550,000 in less than a day.[27] Within three days, he had reached more than 3.2 million followers, making his Instagram account the most followed football-related page from New Zealand.[28] In response, Payne posted a video thanking Valen and his new fans for his new found fame, saying "I just wanted to also express that I'm very grateful to be representing my country and I appreciate all the love from all around the world".
On 3 June, Scarsini attended New Zealand's World Cup warm-up friendly against Haiti, and met Payne at New Zealand's training camp the following morning, where he was gifted a jersey from Payne.[29][30] As of 6 June, Payne has over 5 million followers on his Instagram, making him the second-most followed New Zealand athlete behind Israel Adesanya.[31][32]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Auckland City | 2009–10 | NZ Premiership | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| Waitakere United | 2010–11 | NZ Premiership | 6 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2011–12 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Auckland City | 2014–15 | NZ Premiership | 10 | 1 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 16 | 1 | |
| Portland Timbers 2 | 2015 | USL Pro | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| Eastern Suburbs | 2016–17 | NZ Premiership | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | NZ Premiership | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
| 2018–19 | NZ Premiership | 17 | 0 | — | — | 2[b] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |||
| Total | 49 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 2 | ||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2019–20 | A-League Men | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | A-League Men | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2021–22 | A-League Men | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | A-League Men | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | A-League Men | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 27 | 3 | ||
| 2024–25 | A-League Men | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | |||
| 2025–26 | A-League Men | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Total | 138 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 142 | 4 | ||
| Olimpia | 2026 | Copa de Primera | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | ||||||||||||
- Appearance in OFC Champions League
- Appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs
- Appearances in OFC President's Cup
- One appearance in Charity Cup; four appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearances in A-League Men finals series
International
- As of 05 June 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2012 | 7 | 0 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 46 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Payne goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 March 2013 | Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands |  Solomon Islands |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | [34] |
| 2 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 3 | 21 March 2025 | Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand |  Fiji |
4–0 | 7–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Auckland City
- New Zealand Championship: 2014–15[35]
- New Zealand Premiership: 2009–10,[36] 2014–15[37]
- FIFA Club World Cup Third Place: 2014[38]
Waitakere United[39]
Blackburn Rovers
Eastern Suburbs
New Zealand
- FIFA Series runner-up: 2026
- OFC Nations Cup: 2024
- OFC U-17 Championship: 2011[42]
Individual
