Brian Kaltak

Early career

At the young age of 15, he was promoted to Erakor Golden Star first-team, after most of the club's senior players left following their recent relegation to the First Division. Alongside a promising group of fellow youngsters, they worked hard and won the competition, earning promotion back to the Premier League within two years. Brian's skills even caught the attention of Colin Tuaa, a former New Zealand international player, during an Oceania Football Confederation tournament in New Zealand. Impressed by Brian's abilities, Colin arranged a six-month scholarship for him to train with the A-League club Wellington Phoenix while continuing to play local football with Waterside Karori. To support his training and development, Brian received financial assistance of NZ$15,000 from the Oceania Football Confederation, covering the costs associated with his training and ensuring he had the opportunity to grow as a player.

Auckland City

On 3 October 2018, Kaltak signed for Auckland City. He scored his first goal for the club on 27 January 2019, scoring from a free kick in a 3–2 win over Eastern Suburbs. In 2020, Kaltak became the first ni-Vanuatu to win the New Zealand Football Championship as a player.

Central Coast Mariners

Kaltak soon moved to Australia in April 2022 and began with an initial trial with Central Coast Mariners towards the end of the 2021/22 A-League season. His opportunity with the Mariners came through coach Josh Smith, who…

Kaltak made his international debut for Vanuatu in 2011. In March 2022, Kaltak went to Qatar for the World Cup qualifiers. Vanuatu's first match was scheduled against Tahiti on 17 March 2022, but the team was forced to withdraw from the tournament without playing a game due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the travelling contingent.

Brian Kaltak was born on 30 September 1993, in Erakor, Vanuatu. His father, Timothy Kaltak, played a significant role in shaping his early passion for the sport. From a young age, Kaltak idolised his father and would follow him to the local sports field after school. He was also influenced by Brazilian player Ronaldinho. Kaltak's began playing football at the age of seven. In Erakor, where resources were limited, the village children would play barefoot. As they grew older, they had only three pairs of boots to be shared among twenty kids, necessitating turns to wear them. Kaltak, would wear a single boot on his right foot. After school, Kaltak would play football. When the school locked away their few balls in the changing rooms after school, they would create makeshift balls using plastic bags and sellotape.

Kaltak moved to Port Vila to obtain his secondary education. Brian's cousins Tony and Jean also play for the national team. The pair were both named in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup squad. In 2021, Kaltak told the New Zealand High Commission in Vanuatu that he believed athletes should avoid tobacco as part of World No Tobacco Day. Produced by Fulwell 73, FIFA released Captains in 2022, an eight-part sports docuseries following six national team captains in their respective 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns. Kaltak, representing Vanuatu, starred alongside Thiago Silva (Brazil), Luka Modrić (Croatia), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Andre Blake (Jamaica) and Hassan Maatouk (Lebanon). It was released by Netflix and also shown on FIFA's own streaming platform, FIFA+.