{"id":277615,"date":"2025-07-20T14:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T14:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/277615\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T14:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T14:53:09","slug":"cape-town-football-team-stranded-in-spain-seeks-urgent-hep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/277615\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Town football team stranded in Spain seeks urgent hep"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cape Town football team is stranded in Spain. The coach who remains with the group has used his own funds to feed and transport them. He waits on the tour operator to reimburse him. He has not seen his family in three weeks. He says he cannot think of them now. He must focus on the boys and girls in his care.<\/p>\n

Coach Steps Up Amid Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is alleged that the BT Football Academy<\/a> owner left Spain a week ago with some children. Another coach flew into Cape Town this morning with a small group of youngsters. The coach in Spain says the players were evicted from their accommodation. Temperatures reached 35 to 40 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n

The group went to Madrid airport to find shade and food. The coach arrived safely. He bought meals for the children from his own pocket. He says the owner has failed to issue flight tickets for 20 boys, five girls and three coaches. No return plan exists for the rest.<\/p>\n

Parents and concerned citizens have called on the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. They have also appealed to local MPs and community leaders. The Deputy Minister, Hon Alvin Botes, has guided the coach to the SA Embassy in Madrid. Embassy staff can offer consular support but cannot fund flights.<\/p>\n

Some visas have expired. The embassy can assist with extensions, but not with transport costs. Questions remain. Who pays the tour operator debt? Where are the return tickets? What does the travel insurance cover? The children must return to their schools in South Africa soon.<\/p>\n

\"CapePicture: Cape Flats Stories\u2019s post \/ Facebook<\/p>\n

The public asks for government intervention. Calling on Minister of Sport Gayton Mckenzie<\/a> to assist. People are urged to share this story on social media. See\u00a0 Cape Flats Stories\u2019s post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also read:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Stranded 16-year-old hiker rescued off Table Mountain ledge<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Picture:<\/strong> BT Football Academy \/ Facebook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cape Town football team is stranded in Spain. The coach who remains with the group has used his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[2000,299,104],"class_list":{"0":"post-277615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-spain"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114886136471492914","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}