BCN Sports & Barca Academy - Moving the Goal Posts

Edmonton, Alberta - The famed soccer club FC Barcelona has closed its' Barca Academies and called it quits in Canada and Australia leaving families wondering what support is left.  The academies located in Canada (Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal) and in Australia (Brisbane & Sydney) were licensed to be operated by BCN Sports. BCN Sports announced in April that they were going to be filing for voluntary insolvency, and families that have paid millions of dollars in fees have been left with little information from BCN Sports or FC Barcelona when it comes to any chance of recovering any money. On Friday, June 12, FC Barcelona emailed Canadian clients farewell statements from the local Technical Directors; a similar email was sent to Australian clients on June 16. The messages conveyed feelings of remorse in having to close, gratitude for the experiences and best wishes going forward. Unfortunately, the email has left some families with more questions to be answer...

FC Barcelona and their co-organizer BCN Sports Services, have left families wondering what was it all for? Through its international outreach Barca Academy, FC Barcelona and BCN Sports operated multiple academies in Canada and Australia. All of which have now ceased operations as BCN Sports claims they are filing for voluntary insolvency leaving families out millions of dollars for camps, seasons and an ill-fated trip to Spain. Since the on-set of restrictions due to COVID-19, BCN Sports has quickly acted to use the pandemic to abscond with fees and take steps to shutter their operations and disappear. Websites and Facebook pages have been deleted and their executives have been incommunicado; in some cases even going so far as to wipe BCN Sports from their LinkedIn profiles. But concurrent with the nefarious actions of BCN Services, FC Barcelona has been offering their support to the families while also distancing themselves from their, supposedly "insolvent", co-organi...

EDMONTON, AB - After accepting thousands upon thousands of dollars from parents in major cities across Canada for soccer academy and camp registration fees, BCN Sports, partner of Barca Academy, is using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to cease operations and walk away with the funds they collected. Some families were part of a program in which their children would participate in a tournament in Spain, an experience of a lifetime for young, gifted soccer players. “ We sent the money, and never received any flight tickets, hotel reservations or confirmation numbers - nothing, as far as I know they might never have booked anything, but kept the money. Our family is out over $10000, and that is an incredible amount of money for our family, said Ryan, one of the many parents impacted. Offering discount after discount, BCN pressured families to register early for summer camps and to forward payments for the world cup tournament earlier than usual. When Canada Soccer announced tha...

Veiled behind the effects of COVID-19, BCN Sports Services Inc. has emailed clients that they are ending operations.  On April 30, an email sent to clients across Canada states "Despite our efforts to find ways to make our project financially viable, we are forced to stop our operations, and given the position of the company we intend to file for voluntary insolvency as the best way for orderly closure." BCN Sports Services is the licensed operator of Barca Soccer Academies in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.  The Barca Academy, also known as FCB Escola, is the worldwide academy offshoot of the famous Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona, known for such superstars as Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suárez. The BCN Sports email reads "the extraordinary and unanticipated circumstances around the pandemic COVID 19 have resulted in the cancellation of a number of national and international events, with a very negative impact on the fin...

Canadian company hides behind COVID-19, denying thousands in refunds to families. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, a Canadian company that organizes soccer camps,training and trips, has refused to refund fees to families. BCN Sports Services Canada Inc.  is the co-organizer for the  Barca Academy  soccer training programs in Canada. On March 13 th , Edmonton families were sent an email informing them that the March Break Summer Camp being held ten days later was cancelled. "Not surprising at all." says Danny. He had registered his son for the week long camp and paid for the registration and required uniform, a little more than $500. "The situation had changed so much from when we registered, but by then a lot of things were being cancelled. Gatherings under 250 were still okay, but I understood the move. This was a spring break camp. It was best to give families a chance to find alternatives." But then Danny was hit with the bad ne...