Parents furious as Barcelona shut academies in Australia leaving them out of pocket

The two 'Barca Academies' based in Sydney and Brisbane have been closed after the company that ran them went bankrupt, with Spanish media reporting 'hundreds of families' are demanding their money back.

Messi

Lionel Messi (left) Barcelona's biggest star, Barcelona's 'Escola' in Sydney (right) Source: Getty Images/Supplied

Families had already paid money in advance for the program which included 'the trip of a lifetime' to participate in the 'Barca Academy World Cup' which was to be held in early April. 

The tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus crisis which has seen over 5,000 people die in Catalonia alone. 

The cost, which included flights and accommodation, has not yet been refunded to the parents. 

However, the academies in Australia have now closed, with another five in Canada also closing, after BCN Sports which manages the operation declared bankruptcy. 

, one of the leading radio stations in Spain, Australian parents are furious and "on the warpath".

The families estimate their collective investment is over 150,000 euros ($251,790 AUD). 

One of the parents, Dax Anderson, spoke to a Barcelona based radio station saying he was disgusted. 

"I paid more than two thousand euros in December, and more than six thousand in January for the trip of my two children, my daughter, my wife and mine," Anderson explained. 

"We are still waiting for someone to tell us how we are going to get this money back.

"Everything is very recent, no one has officially told us that they are going to close, but the information we are receiving indicates that the two academies they are going to close.

"We are extremely upset by the lack of information from BCN Sports. And since it is an FC Barcelona academy, we are also very disappointed with the club.

"No one has bothered to contact us to help us. Is this how a club that has values ​​such as respect, teamwork, fair play, etc. acts? A club with billions of dollars. It's disgusting and an embarrassment to their image."

The Sydney and Brisbane academies have deleted their social media accounts and their website returns a 404 error message. 

There were an estimated 400 children at the two Barcelona academies, which was operated by a separate company but the coaches still used the club's coaching methodology.

FC Barcelona released a statement on their website in regards to the closure of the academies based in Canada but so far have yet to release a statement about the Australian academies. 

The club generated a record revenue of $959.3 million USD ($1.48 billion AUD) between 2018 and 2019.

Have you been affected by the Barca Academies closure? Please get in touch via our social media channels. 


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3 min read
Published 13 May 2020 9:01am
Updated 13 May 2020 11:15am
Source: SBS The World Game


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