Help Our Girls Get Back Their Dream Football Trip

A team of U10 girls are now at risk of missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity they have worked and trained so hard for after the organiser of their grassroots club took payment from families for the tournament, travel and accommodation, but the funds were never passed on to the organisers and remain missing.

On Monday, 13th April, families who had paid for their daughters to take part in an international tournament in Paris at the PSG Campus discovered that the organiser of the girls' club, RS Lionesses, had allegedly defrauded them.

RS Lionesses has since been suspended by Lancashire FA, and Jamie (“Jay”) Austin on 8th May was charged by The FA for a breach of FA Rule E3.1 - Bringing the game into disrepute. The FA has issued an interim suspension order against him with immediate effect.

In total, more than £27,000 has reportedly been lost by affected families. Parents have now formed a support group called Victims of RS Fraud and formal investigations are ongoing with the relevant authorities.

WHY WE ARE ASKING FOR HELP

Families who booked to go to the Paris Cup have lost £8,500 in total connected directly to this trip.

While this has been reported to the banks as an authorised push payment (APP) scam, most parents have not yet recovered their money.

For these girls, this was never just a football trip. It was an opportunity they trained for, dreamed about and genuinely earned through years of commitment and hard work.

These talented girls are all ETC (Emerging Talent Centre) players from Chelsea, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and London City Lionesses. They all work so hard at their football and have big dreams.

Without urgent support, they will now miss the opportunity to compete in the Paris Cup. The fraudster will have (allegedly) stolen it from them. We’re asking for your help to give them that chance back.

WHAT WILL THE FUNDS BE USED FOR?

Every donation will go directly towards securing the girls’ opportunity to compete, including tournament entry fees and essential travel costs already paid for once by parents but never received by the organising company.

Time is critical. We need to secure the team’s place and arrange travel before the tournament organisers release the reserved entry place to another team.

Parents remain committed to covering their own personal expenses so that funds raised go directly towards making this opportunity possible for the girls.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MONEY IS RECOVERED?

If affected parents later recover money through their bank or legal proceedings, any surplus funds raised through this campaign will be donated to a children’s football charity so the support continues helping young players in the sport.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

A huge amount has been taken from these girls and their families by a fraudster — not just financially, but emotionally too.

If you are able to donate, no matter how small the amount, you will be helping give these girls the opportunity they have already worked so hard to earn.

Let’s not allow this to be the end of their story. Let’s get these girls to Paris.

THE PARENT'S QUOTES

"My daughter is deeply upset that the trip she had been promised to the Paris International Cup may never happen. She placed her trust, excitement, and dreams in something that now feels like a cruel deception.

The impact this has had on both my daughter and me has been devastating since the moment I discovered that Jamie “Jay” Austin had stolen more than £1,400 from me.

What has been even harder to come to terms with is the realisation that I was groomed and manipulated by him over a long period of time. Looking back, I can now see how my trust was exploited."

"We are all devastated. We paid for the PSG trip with early inheritance my grandad gave me. This was used for what we thought was going towards an amazing experience for our 10 year old daughter, but Jay stole both the experience and the money in one fell swoop."