Published on 6/17/2026
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Last update: 17:42 (Mecca time)
Within a few hours, the name of Cape Verde national team goalkeeper Fosenha moved from the margins of football and second-tier teams to the forefront of the digital scene after the number of his followers on Instagram jumped to more than 11.5 million, after his heroic role in his country’s match with Spain in the 2026 World Cup. Before that, he had less than 50 thousand followers, making his account one of the fastest growing athlete accounts in the world.
The explosive growth of Vozinha’s account on the Instagram platform highlights a broader phenomenon of athletes’ accounts growing explosively within a few hours of their outstanding performance in various sports matches and challenges.
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While these athletes may not achieve unique sporting championships or win gold medals, their success on social media platforms turns them into celebrities whose lives change overnight. Below is a list of the most prominent of these accounts:
Vozinha
The goalkeepers in the ongoing World Cup tournament attracted attention in more than one match, but none of them were able to overcome the stardom and fame of Josimar Jose Evora Dias, the 40-year-old goalkeeper of Cape Verde, known internationally as Fosinha, according to a report by the American “Firstpost” news website.
The reason behind Fosinha’s fame is due to his impressive performance against the Spanish national team, as he was able to save the goal from several confirmed goals throughout the match, which led to it ending in a goalless draw, thus achieving the first point for his country against the second-ranked team in the world.
Fosinha had about 50,000 followers before the match, and after that his Instagram account grew to reach more than 11.5 million followers while writing this article, meaning that the number of followers on his account multiplied 230 times, despite the fact that the population of Cape Verde is only close to 500,000 people.
The sincere moment that Fouzinha experienced after the match contributed to increasing the number of his followers on social media platforms, as the “First Post” report reveals that Fouzinha burst into tears after the match ended because of the impressive result. He explained after the match that he had worked all his life to reach a moment like this, adding: “I did not dream of achieving a moment like this when I was a child.”
Tim Payne
A separate report from the British newspaper The Guardian states that Fosinha’s condition is not the only one during the ongoing World Cup, as New Zealand defender Tim Paine preceded him in that condition.
However, Payne’s success was not only due to his impressive performance in matches, but also due to the support of an Argentine football influencer named Valin Scarcini, who directed his followers to support Payne’s accounts.
Thanks to this support, Payne’s accounts jumped from approximately 4,000 followers to 5.8 million followers without him entering the field, and the growth rate of Payne’s account reached 144,900%.
Alyssa Liu
20-year-old skater Alyssa Liu was able to achieve a gold medal in the last Milan-Cortina winter tournament, which was held last February, but this is not her only success, as Liu found a different success on social media platforms.
Liu entered the tournament with a following of between 200 and 300 thousand followers on the “Instagram” platform, which changed after she won two gold medals and delivered a final speech full of hope that achieved views exceeding 10 million on the “Tik Tok” platform, according to a report by the French “Le Figaro” news website.
The number of Liu’s followers on the “Instagram” platform has now reached more than 8 million followers after the end of the tournament, and she is interested in her digital appearance through a group of very professional photo sessions.
Rebecca Andrade
Brazilian gymnast Rebecca Andrade is one of the first sports cases to witness unprecedented growth in social media platforms after winning several medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to a report by the American “Business Insider” news site.
Andrade’s followers jumped to more than 11 million followers on the Instagram platform, with an increase rate of 431%, after the number of her followers was approximately two million followers, meaning that she gained more than 8 million followers during the Olympics, according to a report by the ESPN website (ESPN) in its Brazilian version.
Ilona Maher
The American Forbes magazine report states that rugby player Ilona Maher was able to achieve remarkable success on social media platforms following the end of the women’s rugby sevens tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Maher’s followers on the Instagram platform jumped to more than two million followers after she had only 580,000 followers at the end of June 2024, achieving growth of more than 245%.
Do players benefit from the number of followers?
The social media accounts of athletes and football players can be viewed as separate platforms from the player himself. This means that the player may not achieve large financial profits or sponsorship contracts due to his performance on the field, but the size of his followers on social media platforms makes companies flock to him.
Perhaps what happened with Payne was a vivid example of this matter, as he confirmed in his statements to the American news website “1 News” that a number of companies began contacting him to become his sponsors and include their advertisements with him.
The same applies to other players from sports other than football, as Liu has a large number of sponsorship contracts with famous brands such as Nike, Samsung, Toyota, and even Gillette. The same applies to Andrade, who has contracts with 12 famous brands, as shown in her YouTube clips.
These players also achieve additional profits from content support funds, as well as club contracts and their market value as veteran players in their various sports, in addition to becoming media faces that can attract the attention of the media and companies to the teams to which they belong.
