Abel Walatee’s journey to his first professional contract is powerful. The 20-year-old spoke to aleagues.com.au about growing up abroad, moving to Australia and so much more.
Every so often an interview comes along that leaves you shocked, and lost for words.
This is that interview.
This season has been a “dream come true” for Abel Walatee after signing his first professional contract. However, it is what the talented Western United youngster has endured to get to this point in his life that makes this tale so incredibly powerful.
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Walatee wasn’t born in Australia; in fact he was born in Ghana before relocating to Liberia at about six months of age to live with his grandmother, with both of his parents overseas.
It was not until he was eight years old that he boarded a plane to Australia.
“My mum left me when I was around six months old. She came here trying to find a better life. I was with my grandmother for most of my childhood. I was in Liberia with her,” Walatee told aleagues.com.au ahead of Saturday’s showdown against Macarthur Bulls at Ironbark Fields in Tarneit.
“It was kind of difficult, I didn’t play much football over there. It was a bit hard to actually think about playing sports over there in terms of where I used to stay and all that.”
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Walatee’s grandmother was all he ever knew. In the eyes of the 20-year-old, she was his mother.
“To be honest, when I heard I was coming here (to Australia), I didn’t want to come,” he continued.
“First of all, I didn’t know where I was going, I didn’t know who I was going to stay with. For me, my grandmother was my mum. I’d never seen my mum before, so when I was told I was going to my mother, I was very confused as a kid.
“I was like, but my mum is right here what do you mean I’m going to my mum in a different place? I was scared on the way here. I was fighting to stay. I was crying. My grandmother was telling me it was for the best, you’re going to your mum. I didn’t want to believe it. I thought she was my mum because she’s the person I’m used to.
“I didn’t want to come here. I wanted to stay. That’s the environment I was used to. I don’t even know who I was coming to. Obviously my grandmother kept telling me she was my mum. I was pretty young too. I couldn’t really comprehend what they were trying to do but I just knew I was going to someone else who claimed to be my mother.
“When I finally came here, I still didn’t take my mum and parents in like that. It took a while for me to actually settle down and be like yeah this is my mother. I’d always cry and complain. I wasn’t on my best behaviour. I wasn’t comfortable with where I was. I’d cry every night saying I wanted to go back home to my mum. I wanted to go back home to where I came from. My mum was very patient with me and understood.
“Football helped me come out of that trouble and those boundaries.”
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While coming to terms with a new family dynamic on the other side of the world, Walatee was also trying to fit in at a time when he “couldn’t really speak English”.
“When I came here, I found it difficult too,” he reflected.
“It was a bit hard fitting in, in terms of language barrier. I couldn’t really speak English that well. I found it difficult hanging out with other kids.
“Football kind of took me out of that obstacle because I used to get made fun of because of my English – they used to bully me. But football helped me get over that obstacle and that’s why I’ve continued to play it.”
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As Walatee said, football helped him a lot in Melbourne.
When he first arrived, football wasn’t his “first preference”. There was tennis and swimming, but then he “figured out he couldn’t swim”.
But it was at school, where Walatee took his first steps in football and where doors were open at around 11 years of age.
“The school I went to, a lot of boys played football,” he said. “At lunch time, I’d join in and have fun. I wasn’t trying to take it serious.
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“One of the players from North Sunshine Eagles came down to run a clinic and I just happened to be part of the group and he saw me playing. He came up to me and asked if I played for a club. Back then my English wasn’t very good so I couldn’t really understand what he was trying to say but obviously I got the memo. I was like ‘na I don’t really play, I just play for fun’. He said I have potential and that I should come down to North Sunshine for a trial.
“I told my dad and he was really happy. He has always supported me. He took me down. I trialled for maybe a week and that’s when I started getting into it. I wasn’t trying to go further – I was just doing it for fun. I think I started as a goalkeeper for fun. Wherever the coach put me, I’d do it.
“I was Eagles Under-11s. I was there for a bit. I was playing different positions. I didn’t play U12s, I think I had an injury. Then U13s that’s when everything kicked off. One day my coach put me as a striker. I was very quick and strong. I think I scored 56 (or) 58 goals that season.
“The coaches were like maybe it was a bit too easy and that I should go somewhere else. I didn’t really want to go, I was comfortable. My dad kept pushing me, so I went (and played) NPL at Green Gully. I was a bit nervous because I realised I was playing with top-quality players.
“At the trial, I realised it wasn’t that much of a difference from where I came from. U14s I played at Gully and had a wonderful season, scored about 23 goals. I was in and out of the team with injury. Then I had a trial with NITC and made the team.”
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Then, Walatee was scouted by A-Leagues club Melbourne City.
That is when he thought “maybe this is a big deal” and “now maybe it’s time to push myself and work harder”.
Walatee played for City’s youth side for almost three years before they relocated to their training base in Casey Field.
“We couldn’t really afford to drive all the way there. We were considering the travel and luckily for me that’s when Western opened their academy,” Walatee recalled.
“I didn’t make it the first trial for some reason and then I got a call back to come back for another trial and I’ve been at Western since.”
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Walatee was part of Western’s inaugural academy squad, and flourished within the club’s youth setup.
Then an opportunity to play abroad emerged in 2023. Before making his Isuzu UTE A-League debut and scoring his first goal, Walatee made the move to Danish pro side Akademisk Boldklub Gladsaxe on a four-year deal.
But it did not go according to plan.
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“I’ve always wanted to play overseas,” Walatee said. “When I got the chance, it was easy for me to take it straight away. I was in the academy at Western and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with me.
“I wasn’t told anything about a scholarship or contract. I got the opportunity from overseas first and I’m like you know what? I’m going to take it. I was doing pretty good at Western that season. When I got the offer from overseas, that’s where everything pops up. Me going over there, it gives me more of a chance to make it into the pro league.
“While I was over there, it was really hard honestly. Luckily in Denmark they all know English. But the reason why I came back to Western, I went to Denmark to play football but I wasn’t really playing. I’m the type of person where if I’m in a club and I’m not getting a chance to play, I wouldn’t stay.
“I was there for six months and I was injured in first couple of weeks of pre-season and when I came back, the coach really didn’t give me much. I think the whole time I was there, I got maybe three games, four max and they were all off the bench.
“It was really hard because I was there by myself too. The coach wouldn’t communicate with me either. It’s almost like he didn’t have faith me. I felt like I was there to make up numbers in training. I felt like I was taking a step back.
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“Luckily while I was there, I got a call from Diogo (Ferreira). He’s always been on my side. He would always call and check on me. One day he called and asked how things were overseas. I told him it wasn’t good and I wanted to come back. He said sure and said he had a spot for me.
“My agent, she was kind of like if you’re going to go back we have to ask them if it’s A-League. Diogo said no, they were not going to put me in A-League straight away because I left when they were about to offer a contract but I didn’t know at the time.
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“He said you’re going to have to come back and have another season in the NPL. ‘If you do good, which I guarantee you will, we will give you that A-League contract’. I was like, I’d rather come back and play football then stay here and not do anything. It was a risk I was willing to take. I came back and had a really good season in the NPL.
“From that, that’s where I got my first A-League contract.”
Being alone in Denmark only amplified Walatee’s struggles away from Australia.
It got to the point where the young gun required a psychologist to navigate the difficult period abroad. However, he does not regret moving.
“It was tough,” Walatee said. “When I first went there, my dad was with me for a few weeks. He checked to see if I’d be okay. I was so grateful. He helped me settle. After he left, it was pretty hard.
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“Financially it was hard. I was making decent money but it was all going on rent and bills and by the time I paid that all off, I wouldn’t have money for groceries. So I had to manage how I eat.
“It was very difficult because I’d be making my own food. Sometimes I’d come back from training and I’d be too tired to even cook. I’d have to spend the money out and get food which wasn’t ideal because food in Denmark is expensive.
“It was really, really tough staying over there. It was kind of depressing too. My agent had to get me a psychologist to get through it. My whole life playing football, I didn’t’ want to play. I wanted to come home. I went there to play football and because I wasn’t getting that chance, I felt like my career was finishing and going downhill. I regretted going overseas.
“Being there helped me as well though. Mentally and physically, being around the players I was with. They helped me with the professionalism, getting myself ready before training and things they do on and off the pitch.
“I don’t regret going there. It really did help me in so many ways but I wasn’t playing football there so for me at that time, I didn’t want to stay there. I wasn’t getting the thing I went there for.”
Without a contract upon his return to Western United, Walatee took a risk but it has paid off.
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After making his A-Leagues debut in 2023-24 and scoring his first goal at the backend of the campaign, he was rewarded with a two-year deal at John Aloisi’s Western United.
He is the new face of Western – not only representing the club’s academy program but the diverse and multicultural environment in Melbourne’s west.
“For me, it was probably the biggest achievement of my life so far. It’s something I’ve been working really hard towards,” he said. “Getting that first pro contract made me really proud, and made my family proud. All the work I’ve been putting in is finally paying off.
“To get my first contract was a dream come true but obviously I don’t want to stop here. I want to go further and sign an even bigger contract. For now I can see the hard work is paying off.”
This season, the Olyroo has made six appearances for the 2021-22 champions.
“Right now, I’m really happy to be there. I’m playing, I’m getting a lot of chances,” Walatee added.
“I’m just enjoying my time. I can’t really ask for anything better so far. Right now my goal is to get into the starting XI.”
Walatee is also dreaming of one day representing the Socceroos, having watched Olyroos teammate and Sydney FC sensation Hayden Matthews make his Australia debut last month.
“I do believe that because things just happen so overnight,” he said with a smile.
“You never know what can happen. One game can change anything. Being with the U23 national team, I have no words to describe it.
“It’s a good chance for me right now where I’m sitting. How close it is, where I am from the first team. One step away. I just have to keep working hard. I can’t get too comfortable with where I am now.”
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