Be vigilant against fraudsters posing as officials of Highlands Park FC, club warns
JOBURG -– Highlands Park falls victim to scammers hell-bent on defrauding aspiring footballers and their families.
Highlands Park FC has warned soccer hopefuls and their parents to be wary of people going around claiming to represent the club and asking them to pay money for their children to attend team trials.
The club’s media liaison officer Sibonelo Ngidi said, “I would like to issue this alert of a recent scam doing the rounds and targeting our club hopefuls and potential soccer hopefuls and those aspiring football professionals.”
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Ngidi added that the public had raised the alarm about the fraudsters who claim to come from the club and also use the club’s logo to dupe aspiring soccer players and their families.
He said the perpetrators claim that Highlands Park FC will host open trials on 21 October at Esselen Park, Kaalfontein between 9am and 4pm, and advise players to register and fork out an amount of R2 500 as a registration fee.
The fraudsters further urge the hopefuls to bring along their identity documents and those coming from outside Gauteng will be accommodated.
“The individual pursuing this scam is said to be an African male of foreign descent with a Nigerian accent and often refers to himself as Naicker.”
Highlands Park does not require any money for trials and registration and the club currently isn’t holding any trials and hasn’t instructed any parties nor individuals to conduct them on their behalf, Ngidi added.
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He said the club would not hesitate to pursue legal action or seek legal advice on the matter to explore any necessary action in this regard. Ngidi added that the club would utilise its social media platforms to inform the public if and when it was hosting trials along with the relevant media partners to alert people about the trials.
“We distance ourselves from the said scam and further warn everyone to be vigilant and avoid falling prey to these fraudsters masquerading as genuine soccer people. If in doubt, people can contact the club’s media officer.”
Details: Sibonelo Ngidi 071 229 3597; ngidi@highlandspark.co.za
