Families of last group of junior footballers stranded in Portugal anticipating their return
The last group from the BT Football Academy will touch down on home soil at around 2pm on Thursday afternoon.
ALSO READ:
- Teen duo relieved to be back home in CT after football tour group left stranded in Portugal
- Families ready to welcome home some of the BT Football Academy players who were stranded in Portugal
The team and their coaches were stranded for a week after their return tickets were never booked.
But South Africans rallied to bring them home with donations to feed and house them while abroad.
With the last group of teen footballers arriving home in just a few hours, some parents are gearing up to take legal action against BT Football Academy.
One of the parents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said academy owner Brandon Timmy reached out to him, asking for R29,000 to help get the kids back.
'I'm just waiting for the other kids to come back. Then, when they're done coming back then I'm going to the police station.'
He added that on the day the team left Cape Town, Timmy wouldn't allow parents to see the plane tickets.
The emotional father also expressed his frustration about online comments directed at them.
'What makes me cross is people on social media saying, 'parents, what did they do?' It pains me every day. We did a lot for our kids, guys. They must know that parents did a lot.'
It's still unclear whether the owners of BT Football Academy will be meeting with the parents to explain why their children and the coaches ended up stranded in Portugal.
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