GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — When he was shown the number of Instagram followers he had gained after helping small nation Cape Verde defeat powerhouse Spain in their first World Cup match, Vosinya, a 40-year-old goalkeeper I gasped in shock and laughed.
he was speaking just after monday Amazing 0-0 draw When he played against the European champions in Atlanta, his followers went from about 50,000 to over 1 million. Less than 24 hours after the fight, Vosinha had already won nearly $10 million. instagram followers — more than NBA superstar Victor Wembaneyama (6.2 million) and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes (6.4 million).
“Crazy, that’s crazy,” Bosinha told Brazilian YouTube channel CazéTV after the match, which made him the biggest rookie at the World Cup so far. It was CazéTV, the only channel in Brazil. Rights to all 104 World Cup matches, That was credited with a huge jump in followers.
CazéTV is anchored by Casimiro Miguel, a popular Brazilian streamer known as Cazé. The channel has more than 31 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for sports broadcasts featuring a more informal, conversational approach with an emphasis on community-based fan engagement. Kadze, who was watching Vosinya’s performance during the broadcast, noticed that the goalkeeper didn’t have many followers on Instagram and started asking viewers to start following him.
Spain, one of the favorites to win the World Cup, was expected by most to break through. First-time tournament entrant. However, La Roja could not find a way through Bosinha and a stubborn defense that answered everything the Spanish superstar threw at him.
Cape Verde, the third smallest nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, pulled off a stunning upset of much-anticipated Spain on Monday, shutting out Spain in a 0-0 draw.
“Typically, we recruit subscribers,” Kadze said. “Today we’re not looking for subscribers. We’re looking for followers. For Vosinha. He’s stopping Spain. He’s shocking the world. He was the standout player in the first half. Why not show him some love?”
Shortly after, his followers increased by hundreds of thousands of people and continued to grow throughout the day. Although Vosinya only started playing professionally at the age of 25, he is one of the few players over 40 in this tournament. He made several decisive saves against Spain’s powerful attack and was named Man of the Match.
result evoked a celebration Cape Verde is an archipelago off the west coast of Africa, home to approximately 500,000 people. Cape Verde is the third least populated country among the countries that qualified for the World Cup.
work on mother’s visa
Bosinha said after the game that his mother was unable to travel to the United States to watch him play because of difficulties obtaining a visa.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said it had no record of her applying for a visa but was working to resolve the situation with Cape Verdean authorities. The ministry announced that it has notified all players from World Cup countries affected by the $15,000 visa deposit requirement that they and their families will be exempt from paying the deposit.
“All of the athlete’s relatives are eligible for visa bond exemption, and the ministry is actively contacting the athlete’s family and assisting them with the visa process,” the ministry said.
The State Department believes Bosinha’s mother did not apply for a visa because she did not have a valid Cape Verdean passport, but is currently in the process of obtaining one, a person familiar with the matter said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential visa deliberations. A request for comment was sent to the team Tuesday afternoon. The team’s next game is Sunday.
A similar incident in Payne
An incident similar to Bosinha’s spread occurred last month. New Zealand national team defender Tim Paineafter an Argentinian influencer called on her followers to make lesser-known players their World Cup “heroes.”
El Scarso, soccer influencer Also known as Valen Scarsini, Paine, 32, was the least-known player at the World Cup, based on his small social media following.
Payne had about 4,700 followers on Instagram before El Scalso took over. That number soon grew to more than 1 million. he had Approximately 6 million followers on tuesday.
Develop new audiences
FIFA is driving a new generation of fans by giving young viewers more options to access football’s showcase events. For the 2026 World Cup, it has signed a record number of broadcast partners with digital-only platforms, partnering with TikTok and YouTube to allow users to watch parts of the match live.
Brazil has historically been one of the countries with the most efforts. Social media and digital platforms. FIFA took note of this and conducted a test of sorts with Kaze TV four years ago following Kaze’s success on Twitch. He will broadcast 22 games during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, leading to a bigger contract for this year’s tournament.
“Thank you,” Vosinha told CazéTV. “The Brazilians have always supported us. We felt it during our campaign to qualify for the World Cup and now we feel it again on the biggest stage. We are grateful for that.”
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Associated Press foreign affairs writer Matthew Lee contributed reporting from Washington.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
