Timothy John Payne (born 10 January 1994) is a New Zealand professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who plays as a defender for

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

and for the New Zealand national team. A noted

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

, Payne has played almost every outfield position during his career.

Career

Auckland City and Waitakere United

Born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, Payne attended Sacred Heart College and started his youth career with

ASB Premiership The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a ...

club

Auckland City FC Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in bo ...

before switching to play for rivals

Waitakere United Waitakere United was a football club based in Waitakere City, New Zealand. They were one of the franchises in the ISPS Handa Premiership. They played their home games at Fred Taylor Park in Kumeu and The Trusts Arena. History Waitakere Uni ...

. Payne played a major role in Waitakere United's success in the ASB National Youth League in 2010.

Blackburn Rovers

After impressing at the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fourteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the eleventh played since the change in age limits from under 16s to Under 17s in 1991. It was held in Mexico with games being played amongst various venues ...

Payne trialed with

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and then spent several months training at the club. Then days after celebrating his 18th birthday Payne signed a two-and-half-year contract with Rovers in January 2012. 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

side

. On 3 January 2020, it was announced that Payne had signed a two-year contract extension with the Phoenix. On June 10, 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.

International career

Payne represented New Zealand at Under-17 level. He played 90 minutes in each of his sides four matches at the

in Mexico. In May 2012 Payne received a call up from

Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current technical director at Cambridge FC. Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after the side faile ...

to the

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...

alongside fellow youngster and U-17 teammate

Cameron Howieson Cameron Drew Neru Howieson (born 22 December 1994) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Auckland City in the New Zealand Football Championship and the New Zealand national team. Howieson signed a p ...

. Payne made his first appearance for the senior national team in a 1–0 win against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

on 26 May 2012, he came on as a substitute for

Leo Bertos Leonida Christos Bertos (born 20 December 1981) is a New Zealand professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Hamilton Olympic in the National Premier Leagues. Leo Bertos is currently the head coach of Northern NSW NPL side West ...

and played the final 15 minutes of the match. He subsequently made an appearance off the bench in the OFC Nations Cup 2012. Payne was named in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

football team for the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

International goals and caps

New Zealand's goal tally first.

International career statistics

References

External links

*
Blackburn Rovers profile
*
NZ Football Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Tim 1994 births Living people Association footballers from Auckland Association football forwards New Zealand association footballers New Zealand expatriate association footballers New Zealand international footballers Auckland City FC players Waitakere United players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Portland Timbers 2 players Eastern Suburbs AFC players Wellington Phoenix FC players Olympic association footballers of New Zealand 2012 OFC Nations Cup players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics New Zealand under-20 international footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate soccer players in the United States New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States USL Championship players New Zealand Football Championship players