Under-10s players were left heartbroken after the team’s coach used money raised for a trip to Spain to fund a gambling habit.

A trusted junior football coach has left families devastated after squandering thousands of pounds meant to send a children’s football team to an overseas tournament.

Michael Grisedale, 39, had agreed to arrange entry in the Spanish competition on the condition mums and dads clubbed together so he could pay fees, hotel costs and airports transfers. But instead, the father-of-two stole £6,401.39 raised by the parents – and gambled it away in online casinos until all the money had gone, a judge was told.

Grisedale, who coached an under-10s side in Greater Manchester, had been placed in charge of collecting the contributions from parents.

However, instead of securing the dream trip, the coach used the money to fuel a gambling addiction—leaving the funds gone.

“It’s Just Heartbreaking”

One parent, speaking anonymously, said: “This trip was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The kids trained hard all year and were buzzing to go. Now they’re devastated.”

The court heard the alarm was only raised three days before the competition was due to start when a hotel in the city where the team were due to stay contacted one of the parents to inform him the reservation had been cancelled due to non-payment.

When quizzed by police Grisedale, who ran the under-10s Vauxhall Astra team in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and whose own son played in the squad, claimed there had not been enough cash available to pay for the trip and he gambled it away in a doomed bid to raise the extra money.

• At Chester Crown Court, Grisedale pleaded guilty to 11 charges of theft and was sentenced to 24 months in jail, suspended for two years, with requirements he completes 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activity. He must also pay back the money he stole to his victims.•

A Call for Greater Oversight

The incident has raised serious concerns about financial accountability in grassroots sport. Many parents are now calling for stricter checks and transparency when it comes to handling team finances.