Grandmother to one of the boys stranded in Portugal relieved he's finally coming home
The players and coaches were left stranded after the academy failed to book return flights despite participants paying R50,000 each for the trip.
The first batch of young football players, who’ve been stranded in Portugal, are set to arrive in Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon. Picture: @Football__Stage/X.
CAPE TOWN - The grandmother of one of the boys stuck in Portugal after a botched football tour has described the family’s ordeal after 34 young footballers and four coaches were left stranded in Europe for a week.
The squad of three junior teams and coaches flew to Spain earlier in July for a football tour arranged by BT Football Academy.
The players and coaches were left stranded after the academy failed to book return flights, despite participants having paid R50,000 each for the trip.
Mary-Anne van der Heever, grandmother to Michael Duminy, said her family has experienced a range of emotions since she found out her grandson was stranded in Europe.
"We were angry, then it went to excitement, anguish, not knowing what is happening, where they are and not getting answers."
Van der Heever said the family quickly realised they needed to reach out.
"We reached out from low to very high. We did not get the answers that we wanted, but eventually... I will only mention one name… Tracey Lange."
Van der Heever thanked the Tracey Lange Cares initiative for spearheading a fundraising campaign, which brought the group back to Cape Town safely.
Duminy will be part of the last batch of 14 players who are set to arrive in Cape Town on Thursday.