Boys ‘left in poverty’ after Bellamy academy closes
A CHARITABLE foundation set up by former Wales football star Craig Bellamy is being looked into by the Charity Commission following allegations that teenage boys in Africa have been left living in appalling conditions.
Two former staff members at the foundation’s academy in Sierra Leone have claimed that four of the boys are now sharing a single room without furniture or a toilet and that no proper plan was made to look after them after the academy was shut without warning in September.
A statement from Bellamy’s solicitor said the former Wales international, who played for 10 clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool and Cardiff City, has appointed a legal team to investigate possible irregularities in the management of his financial affairs.
A commission spokesman issued a statement, saying: “I can confirm that concerns have been raised with us about The Craig Bellamy Foundation and the closure of its academy in Sierra Leone. We are assessing these concerns to determine what, if any, role there might be for the commission.
“As part of our engagement, we are reminding trustees of their duty to file outstanding financial accounts. Trustees must account to the public and donors for income and expenditure and failure to do so may give rise to concerns about the governance and administration of a charity.”
The publicly accessible register on the Charity Commission’s website showed on March 9, 2017, that the foundation’s latest accounts, for the year ending May 31, 2015, had not been filed 343 days after they should have been.
The previous year’s accounts showed income of £381,666 and spending of £360,688.
Bellamy is one of three trustees of the charity, which was set up in the Sierra Leone fishing village of Tombo in 2008 “to offer children in Sierra Leone the chance to reach their true potential”.
At one point there were 35 promising players from across Sierra Leone living there and studying at its school. The foundation also created a youth league which, at one point, helped about 2,400 boys and girls.
A statement from Bellamy’s solicitor said: “Mr Bellamy has recently appointed a new legal team to investigate any irregularities in the management of his financial affairs. These investigations are ongoing and we therefore cannot comment further at this stage on any specific allegation.
“His legal team will assist all government agencies in their investigations and, if necessary, his legal team will take action against those responsible for any wrongdoing.”
The league closed in mid-2014 after the Ebola outbreak but local staff kept the academy going until September 2016, when they were informed it would not reopen after the summer holidays.
Six months on, and the conditions some of the boys are now living in has reportedly shocked former staff members.
One told the Times: “It was sad when the academy closed but what is heartbreaking is to see the state that the boys are left in.”
He claimed that “four of the boys are living in a rundown part of Freetown sharing a small single room. There is no toilet or cooking facilities and just one mattress on the floor which they share. None of them are at school any more, they can’t find work, and they feel they can’t return to their families.”