Top footballer took thousands of pounds, claim teammates and parents

One of Wales' top footballers has been accused by teammates, parents and sponsors of taking thousands of pounds that she has not returned.

Natasha Harding, who now uses her married name Allen-Wyatt, is facing claims she took money for one-to-one coaching with children that she did not deliver.

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

Ms Allen-Wyatt admitted she had to cancel "some sessions" due to circumstances outside of her control, and apologised to those affected.

Ms Allen-Wyatt, who was seen as a trailblazer for the women's game, retired from football in September 2023 after winning 103 caps for Wales, joining an elite group of just nine Welsh footballers to play more than 100 times for their country.

She was unexpectedly left out of the Wales women's squad in late 2022, which the BBC understands was due to a breakdown in her relationship with her teammates, due to allegations some had lent her money that she had not paid back.

Former teammates have now revealed to the BBC that some of Ms Allen-Wyatt's actions "also impacted ourselves, our families, and friends".

Natasha Allen-Wyatt retired from football in September 2023

In a statement, released by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) on behalf of players, staff and the FAW, they said Ms Allen-Wyatt's alleged actions were "extremely disappointing" and "do not represent us as a squad or our values".

The FAW asked families to report any "potential illegal activity to police in the first instance", but also encouraged them to get in touch for support.

They also confirmed they had spoken to police and that players were being supported.

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

She regularly posted online about its success, claiming she had run 2,000 coaching sessions for children across south, mid and north Wales, Cheltenham and Bristol.

On her academy's Instagram page, Ms Allen-Wyatt described coaching young players as a "privilege"

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

BBC Wales has analysed hundreds of WhatsApp messages, banking transactions, invoices and contracts between April 2023 and November 2024 that back up what they have said.

The allegations include:

• A "football mad" brother and sister who used their Christmas money to pay towards sessions that did not take place

• Children as young as seven left feeling rejected and "not good enough" when sessions did not happen

• Volunteers at a grassroots football team were "heartbroken" at telling 40-plus children they would not get the coaching from a former Wales international they had expected

• The BBC also understands £3,770 raised by Ms Allen-Wyatt from a charity skydive in 2020, for causes close to the hearts of fellow Wales teammates, was not passed on to two charities. The third said it was unable to check because of how much time had passed

Ms Allen-Wyatt is seen as an influential figure in Welsh women's football and has regularly spoken about her wish to inspire younger players.

Some parents said they felt 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 lacked confidence.

The parents-of-three, who live in Hengoed, Caerphilly, said Ms Allen-Wyatt told them a GPS tracker would measure Willow's metrics, which she would then compare against children on the Aston Villa Academy database.

Aston Villa have been approached for comment.

Willow, now eight, with her dad Matt, was bought the sessions by her parents to help improve her confidence

Willow's parents said she had one free "taster" session and then one paid session. They said they had "never had one since".

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

Parents told the BBC they paid between £180 and £975 for blocks of one-to-one coaching sessions and that often just one or two were delivered - including a free taster.

None of the parents the BBC has spoken to had all of the coaching sessions they paid for.

They said Ms Allen-Wyatt used multiple reasons for not doing them, including car crashes, lack of pitch availability, schedule clashes, her hen party and her wedding.

Many said their requests for refunds were met with silence or that refunds were promised but did not happen.

Some parents said the cancelled sessions impacted on their children's confidence.

Kelly Tanner from Blackwood, Caerphilly, arranged for her nine-year old "football-mad" daughter Elen to have a taster session, before she then paid £300 for 10 sessions.

Elen was "excited" at the prospect of being coached by a former international footballer

Dr Tanner said: "[Ms Allen-Wyatt] gave Elen really positive feedback and joked, 'I'll be your manager when you're a famous footballer'. Elen was absolutely beaming."

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

She said: "The reason we wanted these sessions was to build Elen's  self confidence and it did the absolute opposite in terms of feeling rejected, or not good enough, or just not important enough."

Adrian Thole, from Caerphilly, paid for 12 sessions for his 15-year-old daughter Hannah, but only five were delivered.

Hannah, who is now 16, said the sessions were really good, but that she felt "embarrassed" when her dad had to chase Ms Allen-Wyatt, believing it was her fault for not being "good enough" to train with her.

Adrian said: "Tash talks about how much of a privilege it was to play for Wales. She's exploited that privilege and disappointed my daughter, and lots of other people."

Club Dreigiau Dâr was set up in Aberdare last year to provide football for girls and boys aged seven to 11, no matter their skill level or financial background.

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

Only two sessions were held and the club received no profit from the academy.

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

Club secretary Haydn Gleed said the situation was "heartbreaking".

'Embarrassed'

The BBC has also spoken to a number of businesses from south Wales who said they paid hundreds in sponsorship, in return for their company name on the front of shirts, on banners and kit.

Some received photos of one shirt with their logos on it, but have said they had nothing more.

James Matthews of air conditioning business Sub-zero Refrigeration claimed he paid £10,000 in investments and loans after he was told - like other businesses 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 back for his 48% stake.

Mr Matthews said he now felt "embarrassed" that he trusted Ms Allen-Wyatt due to her status as a footballer.

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

In their statement to the BBC, the FAW, Wales women's players and staff said: "As a squad that represents our country with pride and look to inspire the younger generation, it has been extremely disappointing to hear the allegations."

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

Since the story broke on Wednesday, a number of parents and businesses have contacted BBC Wales to allege they have also lost money.

It is understood allegations have been reported to a number of police forces in Wales and England, some of which have also been passed on to Action Fraud.

Gwent Police said it had received an allegation of fraud, which it forwarded to Action Fraud.

Action Fraud has been contacted for comment.

Ms Allen-Wyatt did not respond to the allegations made by her former teammates or by businesses, but admitted she did have to cancel "some sessions" she had organised for children.

She said the cancellations were due to "circumstances beyond my control", including, "my car being written off and the second car breaking down" and that refunds had been paid to some parents and agreed with others.

She said she set up the academy to provide low-cost, "detailed technical coaching" to give children "the opportunities that I never had".

She said she was still operating it and "delivering local sessions".