Alleged fraud hits BT Academy

POLICE have launched an investigation into fraud allegations against the owner of the football academy at the centre of a trip to Spain that resulted in more than 30 children being stranded after not having return tickets.

The mother of one of the players, whose identity is being withheld, has come forward and accused Brandon Timmy of misleading her about her son’s return flight and refusing to refund the money.

She said her son did not experience the trip after misplacing his passport at Dubai airport and never made it to Spain with the rest of the team. She also claims Timmy assured her the flight was booked, but no ticket ever existed.

Initially, 38 people travelled to Spain to participate in the Donosti Cup. After the tournament ended, 10 returned home on their own, but the remaining 28 - mostly children and three coaches - were left stranded without return flights, sparking widespread concern.

“He (Timmy) told me the flights had been paid for, but no booking was ever made, and he kept the money,” she said. The mother also claims he breached a contract and now questions whether the document was legally drafted or fabricated like the flight details.

Grassy Park police confirmed that a fraud case has been opened and is under investigation.

Coach Jayvin Chisholm, formerly involved with the team, confirmed the boy who lost his passport in Dubai was accompanied home by one of the coaches, who later returned to Spain to join the group.

“There are a lot of kids who still want to train with us. Only a handful of the players who went on the tour were from BT Football Academy,” he said.

He said BT Football operated under Belmont Spurs FC, a registered company run by Timmy. “They didn’t have their own league and were playing under the Stellenbosch district,” said Chisholm.

He said many players and parents were given false hope. “They were sold a dream. It was made to seem like professional contracts were guaranteed after the tour, which simply wasn’t true. Right now, we’re just focusing on recovery from this.”

South African Football Association (SAFA) Cape Town president Bennett Bailey confirmed the matter is being investigated.

SAFA is the governing body of football in South Africa, while FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) oversees global football rules, compliance, and tournaments.

“We need to get to the bottom of who officially went on this trip—if it was Belmont Spurs, then there are regulations they may have violated. If it was BT, it’s even more serious, as they aren’t authorised to participate in FIFA-sanctioned tournaments,” said Bailey.

One of the players, Aalia Coetzee, 18, from Rocklands, who plays for Norway Park FC in Maitland, said: “At first, Brandon seemed professional. Yet what happened was unbelievable. But the coaches looked after us, gave us food, a place to sleep, and kept our spirits up. I was so happy to see my family again on Thursday, July 24.”

Ozayah Greckwa, 18, from Heideveld, said: “The senior players stepped up and helped the younger ones. I’m no longer with BT Football, but I’ll continue playing. This experience was good and bad.”

Timmy did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.

Cape Times