Former Wales international Natasha Harding in academy cash claims

One of Wales’ best footballers has been accused by teammates, parents and sponsors of accepting thousands of pounds she has not repaid.

Natasha Harding, who now uses her married name Allen-Wyatt, faces allegations that she received money to individually coach children that she did not deliver.

Some parents and businesses told the BBC that the former Reading FC captain warned them he would take action against them if they complained on social media. Many have contacted the police and Action Fraud.

Allen-Wyatt admitted he had to cancel “some sessions” due to circumstances beyond his control and apologized to those affected.

Mrs Allen-Wyatt, considered a pioneer of women’s football, retired from football in September 2023, after winning 103 caps for Wales, joining an elite group of just nine Welsh footballers who played more than 100 times for their country.

she went unexpectedly left out of the Wales women’s team at the end of 2022which the BBC understands was due to a breakdown in her relationship with her team-mates, due to allegations that some had lent her money which she had not repaid.

Former teammates have revealed to the BBC that some of Allen-Wyatt’s actions “also impacted ourselves, our families and friends.”

In a statement, issued by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) on behalf of players, staff and the FAW, they said Allen-Wyatt’s alleged actions were “extremely disappointing” and “do not represent us as a team nor our values”. .

The FAW asked families to report any “possible illegal activity to the police in the first instance” but also encouraged them to get in touch for help.

They also confirmed that they had spoken to the police and that the players were receiving support.

Allen-Wyatt, who also played for Liverpool and Aston Villa and now commentates for another of his former clubs, Manchester City, opened the Tash Harding Academy in August 2023.

He regularly posted online about his success, claiming that he had carried out 2,000 training sessions for children in South, Mid and North Wales, Cheltenham and Bristol.

While it is clear that the academy organizes sessions with some young people, BBC Wales has spoken to parents and companies who say they paid money for services or returns on investments that did not materialise.

BBC Wales has analyzed hundreds of WhatsApp messages, bank transactions, invoices and contracts between April 2023 and November 2024 that support what was said.

The accusations include:

• A ‘football-mad’ brother and sister who used their Christmas money to pay for sessions that didn’t happen

• Children as young as seven left feeling rejected and “not good enough” when sessions did not take place

• Volunteers at a grassroots football team were left “heartbroken” as more than 40 children were told they would not receive the training they had been expecting from a former Wales international.

• The BBC also understands that the £3,770 raised by Ms Allen-Wyatt on a charity skydive in 2020, for causes close to her Wales team-mates’ hearts, was not transferred to two charities. The third said he couldn’t prove it because of the time that had passed.

Allen-Wyatt is considered an influential figure in Welsh women’s football and has regularly spoken of her desire to inspire younger players.

Some parents said they were flattered that she saw potential in their children.

Lucy and Matt Roberts paid £300 for 10 sessions for their seven-year-old daughter Willow, who “lives and breathes” football but sometimes lacks confidence.

The parents of three, who live in Hengoed, Caerphilly, said Allen-Wyatt told them a GPS tracker would measure Willow’s metrics, which he would then compare with those of children in the Aston Villa Academy database.

Aston Villa have been contacted for comment.

Willow’s parents said she had a free trial session and then a paid session. They said they had “never had one since.”

Ms Roberts said: “It’s one thing to lose this money, but at the bottom of it are children who have been promised something that hasn’t happened.”

Parents told the BBC they paid between £180 and £975 for blocks of individual training sessions and often only one or two were delivered, including a free tasting.

None of the parents the BBC spoke to had all the training sessions they paid for.

They said Allen-Wyatt used multiple reasons for not doing so, including car accidents, lack of court availability, scheduling conflicts, her bridal shower and her wedding.

Many said their refund requests were met with silence or that refunds were promised but not fulfilled.

Some parents said the canceled sessions affected their children’s confidence.

Kelly Tanner, from Blackwood, Caerphilly, arranged a trial session for her “football-mad” nine-year-old daughter Elen before paying £300 for 10 sessions.

Mrs. Tanner said: “[Ms Allen-Wyatt] He gave Elen very positive feedback and joked: “I will be your coach when you are a famous footballer.” Elen was absolutely radiant.”

But after six weeks of trying to arrange sessions, Kelly requested a refund which was eventually returned.

She said: “The reason we wanted these sessions was to build Elen’s self-confidence and they did the complete opposite in terms of her feeling rejected, or not good enough, or just not important enough.”

Adrian Thole, from Caerphilly, paid for 12 sessions for his daughter Hannah, 15, but only five were carried out.

Hannah, now 16, said the sessions were really good, but she felt “embarrassed” when her father had to chase after Ms Allen-Wyatt, believing it was her fault for not being “good enough.” to train with her.

Adrian said: “Tash talks about what a privilege it was to play for Wales. She took that privilege and let my daughter and many other people down.”

The Dreigiau Dâr Club was set up in Aberdare last year to offer football to girls and boys aged seven to 11, regardless of their skill level or financial situation.

The club, run by volunteers, paid £650 to Ms Allen-Wyatt in return for 20% of the profits from her academy and 12 training sessions with the club. She also said she would be their ambassador and offered discounted one-on-one sessions for parents.

Only two sessions were held and the club did not receive any benefits from the academy.

The club and two of the parents said they had requested refunds but had not received any money.

Club secretary Haydn Gleed said the situation was “heartbreaking”.

The BBC has also spoken to several South Wales businesses who said they paid hundreds of dollars in sponsorship, in exchange for their company name appearing on the front of their t-shirts, banners and uniforms.

Some received photos of a T-shirt with their logos, but said they had nothing else.

James Matthews, of air conditioning company Sub-zero Refrigeration, claimed he paid £10,000 in investments and loans after he was told (like other companies the BBC has spoken to) that he would be a silent partner and take a percentage of the profits.

Over a one-year period, he said he only received £437 for his 48% stake.

Matthews said he now felt “embarrassed” to trust Allen-Wyatt because of his status as a footballer.

“If it was someone off the street, I would never have paid that money,” he said.

In their statement to the BBC, the FAW, Wales players and staff said: “As a team that proudly represents our country and seeks to inspire the younger generation, it has been extremely disappointing to hear of the allegations.”

They added: “The actions taken by the academy subject to the BBC investigation were in no way affiliated with the FAW. However, the FAW would encourage those potentially affected to seek support, but would also advise that any potential illegal activity should be reported to the police in the first instance.”

Gwent Police said they had received a complaint of fraud and referred it to Action Fraud.

Action Fraud has been contacted for comment.

Allen-Wyatt did not respond to the allegations made by his former teammates or the companies, but admitted that he had to cancel “some sessions” he had organized for children.

He said the cancellations were due to “circumstances beyond my control”, including “my car was written off and the second car broke down” and that refunds had been paid to some parents and agreed with others.

He said he created the academy to provide low-cost “detailed technical training” to give children “the opportunities I never had.”

He said he was still operating it and “delivering local sessions”.