South Jersey soccer club out thousands after travel company cancels overseas trip
A youth soccer trip that had been in the works for years was suddenly canceled. A team from South Jersey says they're out tens of thousands of dollars after a travel company suddenly shut down.
Roughly 18 middle school boys play for the U14 Rancocas Valley Soccer Club in Burlington County, New Jersey, and last year, coach and club president Joe Arone proposed a team trip to England, which included attending professional matches and touring stadiums.
"To these kids, that was magical," he said.
The trip was booked through GoPlay Sports, a Boston-based company, and families started making payments on the eight-night trip scheduled for August.
"We were going to play games against local teams, we were going to have training sessions with professional coaches there," Arone said.
Families, including Whitney Conley, have already paid for the majority of the trip, but earlier this month, an email from GoPlay Sports upended everything.
"We were just all in complete disbelief that this was happening to us," Conley said.
CBS News Philadelphia reviewed the email, which said in part, "It is with deep regret that we inform you that GoPlay LLC has ceased operations, effective immediately, and will no longer be able to accept payments or fulfill any future bookings. In recent weeks, a combination of reduced bookings and increased cancellations due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East has rendered it impossible for GoPlay to continue operations."
The email also said the company was starting the bankruptcy process and advised customers to contact their credit card companies to try and recoup their money.
Conley, whose 12-year-old son plays on the team, said her family of four planned to go and they paid $8,400 to GoPlay Sports. They also bought airfare, bringing their total loss to nearly $11,000.
Across the thirteen families who had signed up, Arone estimates they're out about $125,000. He contacted local police, but so far no one has gotten any money back.
"This was just a complete gut punch because I'm the one that recommended this. I'm supposed to be the trusted person. I'm the coach, I'm the mentor to these kids," he said.
A soccer club in Massachusetts had planned a similar trip with GoPlay. The club president said their trip, which included 55 families was canceled a week before they were supposed to leave. The Massachusetts attorney general's office said it has received at least 25 complaints about GoPlay Sports.
The company has not responded to CBS News Philadelphia's multiple requests for comment.
