Young Premier League footballers ‘being groomed by predators on Snapchat’

♦ Paedophiles are grooming young footballers over Snapchat, a Premier League club has revealed.

Adam Green, head of safeguarding at Everton, said that last season youth team players had disclosed that they had been approached on the social media app by men posing as football agents and scouts with a view to grooming and entrapping them.

The club was running a project with the Internet Watch Foundation, which works to minimise the availability of sexual abuse content online, when the allegations came to light. Two younger boys first raised concerns, which were then echoed by 17 and 18-year-olds.

Mr Green told The Guardian: “On Snapchat it just says a name like Ben at the top [and the message says]: “I’m from an agency representing players from Manchester and London, and we have offices in both places and we’ve been watching you with interest … and we’re interested in signing you. Don’t tell your dad. Don’t tell your club.”

He added: “The threat now is that paedophiles have migrated … to Instagram and Snapchat. Whatever the next craze is, the paedophiles will be on there as soon as the children are.”

Gangs were also trying to blackmail young footballers via sexting, he said.

The safeguarding team said it had received 126 reports last year of sexual and threatening behaviour online.