EXCLUSIVE: ‘Airport that way Prague that way,not today mate’-Hornchurch Hammers fan aged 11 years old becomes football celebrity.

At the age of eleven years old Abelvalentine from Hornchurch has become not just a local football celebrity, but a national one whose tik tok videos reach millions.

Abel is known across the football world for his catchphrase ‘airport that way, Prague that way-not today mate’ that he first used at the semi final of the Europa Conference League at the Queen Elizabeth Park London Stadium in Stratford.

Doing his famous after game commentary for his youtube channel, Abel was overheard using the phrase by Jamie Boyce of Copa 90 who picked it and set Abel on his way to stardom.

The catchphrase and Abel went viral and had over 70 million views worldwide. Since then Abel has been the face of the BT sport advert filmed at Harrow Lodge park that actually opened the final of the Europa Conference league where West Ham beat Fiorentina 2-1.

In an interview with the Havering Daily, Abel’s mum said:

“He has always been a West Ham fan and does his after game commentary for his youtube channel each week.

“His catchphrase really took off and now everyone is telling him he should be a football commentator.

“He has so many people come up and want to shake his hand or have their picture taken with him.”

However, it hasn’t been plain sailing for Abel and Billie his mum. After finding tickets to the final in Prague, the journey to reach the final was looking difficult.

Billie continued: “The ticket prices were in the thousands to get to Prague and I knew Abel was desperate to go. In the end I decided to jump in the car, go through the Euro tunnel and just drive there.”

Despite being nervous and never having driven on the other side of the road, Billie’s determination to get her son to see the game was what mattered and she achieved her goal.

“It has been an incredible journey and not just driving to Prague!.

“We have had so many kind comments about Abel. One in particular has really been very moving. A man told us that he doesn’t like the internet but that Abel had really bought the football community together and now so many fans from different clubs were talking to each other.

“I am so happy with the way Abel has united these fans and he has been through so much himself.”

Sadly Abel has been badly bullied at school and under gone months of dreadful name calling, including racist comments from pupils in his class. His mum has been in regular contact with the Hornchurch school in a bid to stop his bullying, but the school has yet to resolve, or even take this matter as seriously as they should.

“Abel has suffered with a lot of anxiety. It has been continuous name calling and racial slurs for months and all the school do is ask him to shake hands with those that are bullying him.”

Despite the bullies, Abel has become a football fan star right across the country receiving many comments from fans everywhere. He is soon to have his own Adidas Gazelles made for him in his West Ham colours and is a very successful football commentator, the best way to respond to bullies.

Well done to Abel and his mum Billie for their incredible determination.

Support Local Journalism
We at The Havering Daily appreciate your support of quality journalism. Your generous donation, no matter the size, allows us to continue bringing unbiased and informative news to the community. Your contribution helps us maintain our independence and allows us to continue providing high-quality journalism. Thank you for valuing the work we do and for supporting our mission

Thank you

Stay up to date with all of our latest updates and content by following us on our social media accounts!

We have created community pages where we will share our up-to-date stories happening in the area. Add the area closest to where you live.