Massachusetts soccer membership says firm “duped” them out of hundreds of {dollars} for abroad journey: “They just totally vanished”

Families in Lexington, Massachusetts say they’re out hundreds of {dollars} after a journey firm took their cash and canceled a youth soccer crew’s long-awaited journey to Europe only one week earlier than departure.

At soccer follow Thursday evening, the frustration was clear. “I mean we’re all disappointed that we can’t be together to go on such an amazing trip,” stated participant Braiden Kwitkin. “We were looking forward to this since we were like nine.” 

The journey deliberate for eighth grade gamers within the Lexington United Soccer Club had been within the works for the previous two years. 

To Edinburgh, Scotland and London, England and it was a soccer immersion expertise, the place membership president Sean Kennedy stated the scholars would have the chance to compete in opposition to different groups abroad. 

Kennedy says the journey was unexpectedly canceled days in the past and the membership blames the tour company, GoPlay Sports. “GoPlay Sports, which is the tour agency that was supporting this, is really duping us out of this trip,” Kennedy stated.

He instructed WBZ the journey included about 130 individuals from 55 households. 

“We gave them as a club, almost half a million dollars,” stated father or mother Nicole Kwitkin. After making month-to-month funds, Kwitkin says the corporate immediately stopped responding. “I’m out of almost $8,000 cash,” she stated.

Left with no different choices, Kennedy stated the membership not too long ago gathered households to share the information.

“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 stated.

Since the cancellation, mother and father say they haven’t obtained refunds or a transparent clarification. “They didn’t say sorry, they just totally vanished,” Kwitkin stated.

Kennedy says the loss goes past cash. “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 stated.

In 2026, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office says it has obtained no less than 25 complaints about GoPlay Sports. 

The firm has not responded to a number of requests for remark.