Families say they’ve been ‘ripped off’ as the kids football camp came with an extra £350 picture cost while the City star was nowhere to be seen for most of the session
A family who paid £150 for their child to attend a football camp featuring an appearance from Jack Grealish have slammed the event as being an ‘absolute let down’ after saying the player ‘only appeared for an hour or so’ whilst young fans were charged for photos.
On Wednesday (August 12), the Manchester City FC footballer, who is currently on loan to Everton, appeared at a special youth camp for boys and girls aged between six and 16. The event was not arranged by the sports star and was instead organised by FlexWork Sports, who host similar sessions with leading sports stars around the world.
Held at the Armitage Sports Centre, on Mosely Road in Fallowfield, attendees were told ahead of the one-off event that it would be a chance to ‘learn skills from Jack and get a pic with the star’.
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But Julie Black, from Reddish, said she was ‘disappointed’ after hearing about the experience from her 12-year-old grandson who attended. She said her grandson didn’t get to meet the player at the event, which had originally been set to take place at 9am but then changed days earlier to 2pm due to Grealish’s club practice.
She claimed the player only turned up for ‘about an hour and a half’ during the four-hour session, and that taking photographs with Grealish or getting his autograph all came with additional costs. It is thought a family photo cost around £350. In addition to the cost of the £150 ticket, Julie claimed adults also had to pay £15 on the day to be able to supervise their children.
“My grandson is very disappointed and I don’t know what we can do about it,” Julie told the Manchester Evening News. “He is a big football fan and a big City fan so he was very much looking forward to being able to play with Jack, but that didn’t happen at all.
“It’s got Jack Grealish’s name on the event, so we expected him to turn up for the whole session and not to just pop up to kick a few balls and then charge his fans for his signature.”
One Facebook post advertising the Jack Grealish event said ‘athletes ages 6-16 will learn skills from Jack, get a pic with the star, get swag’ with no mention of any additional costs. However, organisers have said these optional extras had always been listed on the online check-out page.
The main event listing for the Jack Grealish camp is no longer online, but similar events, including a forthcoming one with Everton star Jordan Pickford, says that the star player will be joined by coaches ‘over the course of the day’ through interactive sessions and unique opportunities to ‘connect’.
“My grandson said he enjoyed being able to play football for a few hours, but I feel like he could have gone to kick a ball at the park instead and not been ripped off,” Julie said. “He said the rest of the event was a let down and that he wouldn’t go again. He got a T-Shirt saying Jack Grealish Football Camp, but the irony was that he was hardly there for it.
“I felt so sorry for him when he came back and said he didn’t even get the chance to meet him. He said Jack only played football with a small group of the kids, and then began taking photos with those who had paid extra.”
In a response, FlexWork Sports said they were ‘sorry to hear’ that the family’s experience ‘fell short’ of expectations, but said that Grealish ‘rotated through each group so every participant had the chance to be on the field with him’. Representatives for Jack Grealish declined to comment when approached by the M.E.N.
The organiser also said that photos and autograph opportunities had been listed as optional upgrades online, and had been included on the registration check-out page alongside spectator costs. However, it said it ‘recognised’ that this might not have been as clear as it could have been, and are ‘looking at how we communicate pricing’ better going forward.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Flexwork Sports said: “We’re sorry to hear that this family feels their experience with us fell short, and we take feedback like this seriously. Every camp we run is designed so kids leave with a great experience and a real memory of the day.
“The event’s window moved from its original 9am-1pm slot to 2pm-6pm due to a late change in club practice. This adjustment was communicated to all registered families ahead of the event, and all families who were not able to make the new time were refunded.
“Jack rotated through each group so that every participant had the chance to be on the field with him. Additionally, Jack spent quality time with a group of campers from the Special Olympics Great Britain.
“Photo and autograph opportunities, along with adult spectator access, are optional add-ons that sit outside the standard camp ticket. The upgrades had their own registration page, and in addition to being available on-site, spectator tickets were a part of the standard registration check-out.
“The spectator fees are consistent across all FlexWork Sports events internationally to ensure the safety of campers, families and the host athlete by preventing overcrowding.
“We recognize this family felt that wasn’t clear to them before the event, and we’re always looking at how we communicate pricing so families know exactly what’s included before they arrive.”
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