A social media campaign has propelled Australian defender Kai Trewin to 100,000 new Instagram followers, as football influencers compete to make lesser-known World Cup players famous. The 25-year-old Socceroos squad member was targeted by content creator RubikayTV, who challenged his followers to boost Trewin's profile after a similar effort for New Zealand's Tim Payne went viral.
Trewin, who had just 3,000 followers before the campaign, was described by RubikayTV as the 'least-known player at the World Cup' and urged fans to make him 'the Cristiano Ronaldo of the World Cup'. The trend began when South American influencer Valen Scarsini, known as 'El Scarso', encouraged his community to follow Payne, who has since surged from 5,000 to over 4.6 million followers.
Trewin, a wingback, was included in Tony Popovic's final 26-man squad for the 2025 World Cup after making his debut for Australia in 2025. He started his career at Brisbane Roar, moved to Melbourne City in 2024, and joined New York City FC in January 2025, where he has faced stars like Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller.
Payne, who plays for Wellington Phoenix, has become the second most followed New Zealand athlete behind UFC fighter Israel Adesanya, with his follower count approaching New Zealand's population of 5.3 million. He thanked his new followers in a 29 June Instagram post, saying, 'It's been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least.'
Both players are set to appear in the World Cup: New Zealand face Iran on 16 June, while Australia open against Turkey on 14 June. Payne's newfound fame has not altered his posting habits, with only three updates since the campaign began.
