Massachusetts soccer club says company "duped" them out of thousands of dollars for overseas trip: "They just totally vanished"

Families in Lexington, Massachusetts say they're out thousands of dollars after a travel company took their money and canceled a youth soccer team's long-awaited trip to Europe just one week before departure.

At soccer practice Thursday night, the disappointment was clear. "I mean we're all disappointed that we can't be together to go on such an amazing trip," said player Braiden Kwitkin. "We were looking forward to this since we were like nine." 

The trip planned for eighth grade players in the Lexington United Soccer Club had been in the works for the past two years. 

To Edinburgh, Scotland and London, England and it was a soccer immersion experience, where club president Sean Kennedy said the students would have the opportunity to compete against other teams overseas. 

Kennedy says the trip was unexpectedly canceled days ago and the club blames the tour agency, GoPlay Sports. "GoPlay Sports, which is the tour agency that was supporting this, is really duping us out of this trip," Kennedy said.

He told WBZ the trip included about 130 people from 55 families. 

"We gave them as a club, almost half a million dollars," said parent Nicole Kwitkin. After making monthly payments, Kwitkin says the company suddenly stopped responding. "I'm out of almost $8,000 cash," she said.

Left with no other options, Kennedy said the club recently gathered families to share the news.

"It was just a couple days ago, and we brought all our families together and said, 'Folks, we're not hearing from this company, we don't think it's going to happen,'" he said.

Since the cancellation, parents say they have not received refunds or a clear explanation. "They didn't say sorry, they just totally vanished," Kwitkin said.

Kennedy says the loss goes beyond money. "For us it's really not about the money, it's about the experience that now the kids are going to lose and it's the fact that this organization really duped us out of this money and we don't want that to happen to other organizations," Kennedy said.

In 2026, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office says it has received at least 25 complaints about GoPlay Sports. 

The company has not responded to multiple requests for comment.