Brian Kaltak and his unconventional journey from Vanuatu to the A-League Men

The overnight success of A-League champion and Vanuatu’s first professional footballer Brian Kaltak has amplified calls for Australia to do more to support Pacific football, particularly as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, flags a commitment of millions of dollars each year to support a rugby league team from Papua New Guinea.

Kaltak’s Central Coast Mariners are preparing for the defence of the men’s title they won in June, and their first match against Adelaide United is on Friday night. A year ago the defender signed in Gosford, initially as an injury replacement player, after playing most of his career at the semi-professional level in New Zealand. He went onto play 25 matches in the heart of the Mariners’ backline.

Although his rise appears sudden to observers in Australia, 30-year-old Kaltak said the breakthrough had been the result of years of work. “Always growing up, I never think of anything else but, just the mindset of playing this beautiful game and getting a professional contract,” he said. “I don’t know why, but it happens to me, and my mind was just always always focused on that.”

His perseverance has been rewarded with a two-year contract extension in Gosford. But while some Pasifika players – such as Fijian striker Roy Krishna – have come before him, Kaltak’s unconventional journey typifies the challenges faced by those who grow up in Oceania.

Kaltak had been one of the first graduates of Vanuatu’s football academy, and was invited to test himself in New Zealand after impressing for his country’s youth side. He failed to make an impression during a trial with Wellington Phoenix in his teens, but stayed and played in the semi-professional local league.

It was a decade before another door to a