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Eyewitness News
6 days ago
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Parents of 34 CT footballers who were stranded in Europe set to meet with trip organisers
CAPE TOWN - The parents of the 34 young Cape Town footballers who were stranded in Europe during a botched tour are expected to meet the organisers of the trip for the first time after the ordeal. The children and four coaches flew to Spain in July for a football tour arranged by the BT Football Academy. But the group was abandoned in Portugal after it emerged that the academy didn't secure flights home for the squad. ALSO READ: • Cape Town Tourism says BT Travel could face termination after being suspended over football tour group's stranding • Parents of junior footballers stranded in Europe could lay criminal complaint, says expert • BT Football Academy yet to provide explanation for what went wrong with Europe trip • Jubilation and tears as last batch of BT Football Academy players who were stranded in Europe welcomed home BT Football Academy has since closed down. The academy failed to book return flights despite participants paying R50,000 each for the trip, leaving the entire squad stranded for more than a week. Virgil Martin, a parent of one of the former BT Football Academy players, said they'd received an invitation to an in-person meeting with academy chairperson, Brandon Timmy, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The invite states that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the challenges and developments that occurred during the trip. But Martin said he did not want to give Timmy a platform. Martin said that some of the parents had opened cases with SAPS.
IOL News
25-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Exposed: The booking loophole BT Academy used to abandon SA students in Europe
The BT Academy owners chose to return to South Africa, abandoning 25 students and their three coaches, who were left stranded and vulnerable in Europe. While BT Academy owner Brandon Timmy and his wife were living the high life in Spain, with full knowledge of the looming crisis, they returned home to South Africa, leaving the 25 students and their 3 coaches stranded in Europe. It is clear that Timmy, who has his own travel company - BT Travel, knows the loopholes in the booking system. This is how he could have outsmarted the airlines in order to fund him and his wife's luxury holiday in Spain, before returning to South Africa and abandoning the students and their coaches in Europe to fend for themselves. Refundable tickets Some airlines offer the option of purchasing refundable tickets, which you are allowed to cancel closer to the date of your flight. Full payment is required, which is more expensive than normal tickets, however you can get a full refund back afterwards. It is likely that Timmy may have used this loophole that many travellers are not aware of when he booked the flights. He would have then cancelled the tickets after the VISAs were processed and approved. Timmy, with the knowledge that the students would be stranded in Europe, would have subsequently purchased one-way tickets which, by his own admittance, were more expensive and all they could afford, once the VISAs were approved. The other alternative was that Timmy had help from the Spanish Embassy, however; this is highly unlikely as the visa facilitation services would still have required supporting documentation.
IOL News
25-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
The crisis at BT Academy: How Brandon Timmy abandoned students abroad
The BT Academy owners chose to return to South Africa, abandoning 25 students and their three coaches, who were left stranded and vulnerable in Europe. Image: Supplied While BT Academy owner Brandon Timmy and his wife indulged in a lavish lifestyle in Spain, they were fully aware of the impending crisis back home. Despite this knowledge, they chose to return to South Africa, abandoning 25 students and their three coaches, who were left stranded and vulnerable in Europe. It is evident that Timmy, the owner of his own travel company, BT Travel, is well-versed in the details of the booking system and its loopholes. This is how he could have outsmarted the airlines in order to fund him and his wife's luxury holiday in Spain, before returning to South Africa and abandoning the students and their coaches in Europe to fend for themselves. Brandon Timmy and wife Jonique Timmy enjoyed a 2-week luxury holiday in Europe before returning to South Africa. Image: Facebook 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 Next Stay Close ✕ Refundable tickets Some airlines offer the option of purchasing refundable tickets, which you are allowed to cancel closer to the date of your flight. Full payment is required, which is more expensive than normal tickets, however you can get a full refund back afterwards. It is likely that Timmy may have used this loophole that many travellers are not aware of when he booked the flights. He would have then cancelled the tickets after the VISAs were processed and approved. Timmy, with the knowledge that the students would be stranded in Europe, would have subsequently purchased one-way tickets, which, by his own admittance, were more expensive and all they could afford once the VISAs were approved. The other alternative was that Timmy had help from the Spanish Embassy, however; this is highly unlikely as the visa facilitation services would still have required supporting documentation. Why did the South African embassy not do more to assist them? When they sought assistance from the SA embassy in Spain they found that some of the students' visas had expired. The embassy told them they could only assist them with the visas and not the flight arrangements. This begs the question - why would the South African embassy in Spain - who is there to assist our citizens in emergency situations, not call on government bodies to help. One would also assume that the consulate would have stepped in to help with accommodation for the students when this happened. Is this not why we have embassies - to help South African citizens who are stranded abroad? Perhaps they too were busy enjoying a summer vacation in Europe. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel. Cape Argus
IOL News
24-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
How BT Academy booked one-way tickets that left students stranded in Europe
While BT Academy owner Brandon Timmy and his wife were living the high life in Spain, with full knowledge of the looming crisis, they returned home to South Africa, leaving the 25 students and their 3 coaches stranded in Europe. It is clear that Timmy, who has his own travel company - BT Travel, knows the loopholes in the booking system. This is how he could have outsmarted the airlines in order to fund him and his wife's luxury holiday in Spain, before returning to South Africa and abandoning the students and their coaches in Europe to fend for themselves. Refundable tickets Some airlines offer the option of purchasing refundable tickets, which you are allowed to cancel closer to the date of your flight. Full payment is required, which is more expensive than normal tickets, however you can get a full refund back afterwards. It is likely that Timmy may have used this loophole that many travellers are not aware of when he booked the flights. He would have then cancelled the tickets after the VISAs were processed and approved. Timmy, with the knowledge that the students would be stranded in Europe, would have subsequently purchased one-way tickets which, by his own admittance, were more expensive and all they could afford, once the VISAs were approved. The other alternative was that Timmy had help from the Spanish Embassy, however; this is highly unlikely as the visa facilitation services would still have required supporting documentation.
IOL News
23-07-2025
- IOL News
How did 25 Cape Town teens leave SA on one-way tickets to Europe?
How did 25 schoolchildren from Cape Town found themselves stranded in Europe after travelling to Spain on one-way tickets for an international soccer tournament? A group of 25 schoolchildren from Cape Town were left stranded in Europe after travelling to Spain on one-way tickets for an international soccer tournament - with no confirmed return flight home. The young players, aged between 13 and 18, represented BT Football Academy, a Cape Town-based youth development club, at the Donosti Cup 2025 in San Sebastián, Spain. While they were scheduled to return home on July 15, it was soon discovered that their tickets only covered the outbound journey. This left the children stranded in Portugal, reportedly with no food, accommodation, or funds to secure their return to South Africa. This left many of us wondering how exactly this happened The tickets were allegedly booked by the club's founder, Brandon Timmy, who is said to have purchased the one-way flights at Cape Town International airport. Timmy also operates his own travel company, BT Travel - which means that he has knowledge of loopholes in the system that most travellers are not aware of. While Timmy and his wife returned to South Africa on their return tickets, the children were left behind in Europe, prompting concerns and confusion over how such a trip was allowed to proceed without proper travel documentation.
