How a radio host, her husband, and a Facebook page admin banded together to bring stranded soccer stars home from Spain

IOL News

22-07-2025

A group of children from Cape Town saw their dream turn into a nightmare after being stranded in Spain following a soccer tour.
Image: Supplied
Thanks to the outpouring of help from South Africans, young aspiring soccer stars from the Cape Flats and three coaches who were left stranded in Spain are set to return home this week.
The 25 children, aged between 13 and 18, participated in the Donosti Cup 2025 in San Sebastián, Spain.
They are part of BT Football - a Cape Town-based academy.
The team was set to return home on July 15, 2025.
However, their return tickets were unavailable.
According to the Cape Argus, no return tickets were booked.
BT Football Academy owner Brandon Timmy requested that the group travel by bus to neighbouring Portugal, which would allow him to secure more affordable flights back to Cape Town
Claims were further made that return tickets were never booked.
After a nightmare ordeal, coaches in Lisbon reached out to parents and social media for assistance. They were stuck in a foreign country, with no food, accommodation, or flights to return home.
But, the golden hearts of a local radio host, her husband, and an admin on a popular Facebook page made the impossible possible.
KFM radio host Tracey Lange, her husband Avukile Mabombo, through the Tracey Lange Cares initiative, were the ones who immediately jumped into action when the news came out about the stranded children. Shantelle Engelbrecht, from Johannesburg, an admin of the popular Facebook page Coloured Girls Rock, also stepped in.
KFM radio presenter and media personality Tracey Lange and her husband Avukile Mabombo made it their mission to bring back the stranded group from Spain.
Image: Facebook/Tracey Lange
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Engelbrecht is known for assisting those in need and using social media to change the lives of those who need it most.
The trio, who never met before, banded together with one goal in sight: bringing back the children and coaches.
Lange and Engelbrecht kept social media users updated with their blow-by-blow posts on how far things are progressing.
Their posts saw donations flood in from all over as normal South Africans dug deep in their pockets to give anything they could to assist with food, accommodation, and flight costs.
Shantelle Engelbrecht, admin of the Coloured Girls Rock page ensured that this group would return home safely.
Image: Supplied
By Tuesday morning, it has been confirmed that the group will be returning home to South Africa on Wednesday and Thursday.
'We can confirm that we have managed to raise the funds to pay for all 28 flight tickets and with the assistance of TAAG have managed to secure seats on flights within the next few days. Everyone will be home by the end of the week. Thank you to everyone that has assisted in making this possible. I will be sharing more details at a later stage to also share a special thanks to everybody,' Lange said.
Lange also confirmed that locals in Lisbon also reached out to assist the stranded group.
Speaking to IOL, Engelbrecht said they had initially managed to book flights bit by bit, however, a travel agent, named Mel, had managed to get flight discounts from R28,000 to R18,500 per person.
'A group of kind people in Portugal, some South Africans, some friends and family of South Africans, and some absolute strangers are helping with food for the group on that side,' she said.
The statement released by the football academy.
Image: Supplied
Engelbrecht said the donations from South Africans, albeit small amounts all contributed to the end goal.
'One lady walked to the ATM to deposit money. People sent proof of payments. It all eventually added up,' she said.
The stranded coaches, who used money out of their own pockets, will also be receiving some assistance.
Engelbrecht reached out to major retailer Pick n Pay to assist coaches who had to bear the brunt of feeding the group in Euros.
'When I spoke to Pick n Pay, just to say please when the coaches come back, can we sort them out with groceries since they used their own money to help with the children? I was an immediate yes,' she said.
Now, knowing they will be home soon, the group will be shown around Portugal by locals who contacted the trio, stating they wanted to change their horrible experience and have them leave with great memories.
'They are hosting the team today, showing them the sites and letting them experience some of the lekker food Portugal is known for. Again, ordinary people. Those are the heroes,' Engelbrecht said.
She said this was never about clout, but about pure humanity to those in distress.
'This is not about the shine. The thing for us was, let's just get these children home,' Engelbrecht said.
In a statement released on Sunday, July 20, 2025, BT Football released a statement citing delayed visa appointments as the reason it failed to book return flights in time.
"Prior to departure, all essential elements of the tour, including accommodation, food, tournament registration, and other logistical requirements, were paid and secured. Our team was excited and well-prepared to represent South Africa in the prestigious Donosti Cup. Unfortunately, our preparations were significantly impacted by delays in securing visa appointment slots. Despite our early attempts to begin the visa process, we were only granted appointments much later than planned. As a result, visas were received merely a week before the intended departure. This created immense pressure on our team to secure flights within an extremely short timeframe," the statement read.
It further stated costs of return flights were unaffordable.
"The cost of return flights so close to the departure date proved unaffordable. The boys and girls successfully participated in the Donosti Cup tournament. However, upon conclusion of the tournament, the return flight prices remained prohibitively high, and we were still unable to secure tickets home."
They also claimed they were working around the clock to bring the group home.
[e-mail]
IOL