Tim Payne (footballer)

Tim Payne

Payne playing for the Wellington Phoenix in 2025.
Personal information
Full name	Timothy John Payne [1]
Date of birth	(1994-01-10) 10 January 1994 (age 31) [1]
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Position(s)	Midfielder, defender
Team information
Current team	Wellington Phoenix
Number	6
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–	Wellington Phoenix	130	(4)
International career‡
2011	New Zealand U17	9	(4)
2011–2013	New Zealand U20	4	(0)
2012	New Zealand U23	2	(0)
2012–	New Zealand	43	(3)
Medal record Men's football Representing   New Zealand OFC Nations Cup Winner 2024 Fiji/Vanuatu 2012 Solomon Islands
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 March 2025

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. ^[2]

A noted utility player, Payne has played almost every outfield position during his career. ^[3]

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 FC 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. ^[4]

Blackburn Rovers

After impressing at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup Payne trialed with Premier League side Blackburn Rovers and then spent several months training at the club. ^[5] Days after celebrating his 18th birthday Payne signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Rovers in January 2012. ^[6] 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. ^[7] On 3 January 2020, it was announced that Payne had signed a two-year contract extension with the Phoenix. ^[8] On 10 June, 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. ^[9]

On 17 December 2024, Payne signed a new three-year contract with the Phoenix, until the end of the 2027–28 season. ^[10]

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. ^[11] 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. ^[12] 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.

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		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		16	1	—		—		—		16	1
	2018–19		17	0	—		—		2 [b]	0	19	0
	Total		49	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	51	2
Wellington Phoenix	2019–20	A-League	16	0	1	0	—		0	0	17	0
	2020–21		19	0	—		—		—		19	0
	2021–22	A-League Men	23	0	1	0	—		1 [e]	0	17	0
	2022–23		23	0	2	0	—		1 [e]	0	26	0
	2023–24		23	3	2	0	—		2 [e]	0	27	3
	2024–25		20	1	0	0	—		—		20	1
	2025–26		0	0	2	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		124	4	5	0	0	0	4	0	133	4
Career total

1. Appearance in OFC Champions League
2. Appearances in New Zealand Football Championship play-offs
3. Appearances in OFC President's Cup
4. One appearance in Charity Cup; four appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
5. Appearances in A-League Men finals series

International

As of 21 March 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year ^[13]

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	1	1
Total		43	3

Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Payne goal.

List of international goals scored by Tim Payne

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	[14]
2				2–0
3	21 March 2025	Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand	Fiji	4–0	7–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

New Zealand

• OFC Nations Cup: 2024

Individual

• PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2023–24 ^[15]
• A-Leagues All Star: 2024 ^[16]

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
2. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011 – List of Players" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 10 August 2011. p. 18. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
3. "Wellington Phoenix utility Tim Payne negotiates his own contract extension". 3 January 2020.
4. "Q & A WITH TIM PAYNE". Waitakere United. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
5. "Kiwi set for Blackburn chance". Sky Sports. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
6. "Payne seals Rovers move". Sky Sports. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
7. "Wellington Phoenix Sign Kiwi International". Wellington Phoenix. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
8. Rollo, Phillip (3 January 2020). "Wellington Phoenix utility Tim Payne negotiates his own contract extension". Stuff.co.nz .
9. Voerman, Andrew (11 June 2020). "Wellington Phoenix defender Tim Payne pleads guilty to drink-driving after golf cart ride". Stuff.co.nz .
10. "All Whites fullback sticks with the Nix". Wellington Phoenix . 17 December 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
11. "Herbert includes Payne and Howieson for World Cup qualifiers". New Zealand Football. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
12. "All Whites beat Honduras in Dallas". New Zealand Football. 27 May 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
13. Tim Payne at National-Football-Teams.com
14. https://web.archive.org/web/20130420065735/http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/index.php?id=11&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2217&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=10&cHash=ce874b8afd NZ Football
15. Rollo, Phillip (16 May 2024). "Wellington Phoenix dominate PFA A-League Men team of the season". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 17 May 2024.
16. "A-League All Stars Men lock in final 21-player squad to take on Newcastle United this Friday". A-League Men . 20 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

External links

• Tim Payne – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Blackburn Rovers profile
• Tim Payne at Soccerway
• NZ Football Profile