The Dutch football association KNVB is warning parents and clubs to be on the look out for fake managers who approach young players with stories about lucrative contracts.

The warning follows the case of three young players whose families lost thousands of euros after being approached by a broker who promised them a professional career.

‘It is fantastic to dream about a career in football, especially when you are a child and that is why you have to be so careful,’ spokesman Koen Adriaanse said.

Current affairs show Nieuwsuur reports on the case of the three teenagers on Monday evening.

The three B1 players for club West-Frisia in Enkhuizen were approached by a man claiming to be a Fifa agent a year ago. The youths’ families paid thousands of euros to cover the cost of trips to clubs in France and Portugal but the promised scouts and matches failed to materialise, Nieuwsuur said.

Doubts

‘Parents went along blindly with their children’s dreams. Parents must check out stories like this very carefully and if they have any doubts, ask the KNVB,’ Adriaanse told broadcaster NOS.

‘We have rules and are working on a quality standard for agents,’ he said. ‘We also require agents to have an official certificate of good behaviour.’ The agent at the centre of the programme is unlicenced.

The agent’s lawyer told Nieuwsuur his client had not made any promises to the young players.