After being left stranded in Portugal for days, with no idea how they would find a way to return home, four members of BT Football Academy’s coaching staff have handed in their resignation letters.
The group consisting of 38 members recently travelled to Spain, where their under-14, under-19, and girls team competed in the prestigious Donosti Cup. While the trip abroad may have been one filled with unforgettable memories, their return home appeared to be a nightmare.
This comes after it was discovered that their return tickets were never booked, despite each person having paid R50,000 to cover the trip’s expenses.
The academy’s founder, Brandon Timmy, spoke to radio presenter Carl Wastie to explain why return tickets were not secured.
“The issue that we had for our return tickets was that we had our application for our visas processed quite late, so we only had appointments that we received from the application centre round about the end of May.”
With no idea how they would return, radio presenter Tracey Lange and several members of the public hopped in and offered financial donations, which ultimately led to the group’s return last week.
Meanwhile, coaches Jesse Julius, Clayton Levendal, Keeno Damons, and Jayvin Chrisholm all resigned.
In a statement, they expressed their frustration with Brandon, writing:
“To Brandon Timmy: We are nothing like you. You tried to break us. You failed to pay us. You abandoned us. But in the end, all you did was bring us closer together.
“We are coaches with integrity, honour, principles, and honesty. The very things you lack.”
They criticised the founder for abandoning them at a time they needed him most, but later praised ordinary South Africans for standing behind them with messages of support and financial donations.
Amidst all these developments, it has also been reported that one of the academy employees was dismissed after speaking out about what was happening behind the scenes.
Also see: Local football team left stranded in Europe
