Paris 2024: Canada football drone spying scandal

Two members of Canada´s football coaching staff have been sent home, and an apology was issued amid an investigation into reports of a drone flying over New Zealand´s team practice.

Drone Spying

Despite opening ceremonies taking place on July 26, events like women’s football and handball have already begun, and ahead of Canada vs. New Zealand on July 25, a spying scandal has emerged.

Earlier in the week, New Zealand complained to the IOC about drones repeatedly being spotted above their training sessions, and news broke the same week that a non-accredited Canadian football staff member was detained after being spotted operating the said drone. After releasing that information in a statement, Canada´s Olympic sporting committee released an apology to New Zealand.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee stands for fair play, and we are shocked and disappointed,” the statement said. “We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected, and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee.” said the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Coaching involvement

Canada´s head coach Bev Priestman denied any involvement in the scandal, and despite reportedly complying with FIFA´s investigation into the incident, she has decided to voluntarily step aside and will not be coaching from the sidelines in Thursday´s matchup against New Zealand.

Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and football analyst Joseph Lombardi were both immediately sent home after the story broke, and an unnamed 43-year-old Canadian man was accepted an 8-month sentence after being charged with maintaining a drone over a prohibited area.

Lombardi admitted to using the drone to record New Zealand players rehearsing their strategies ahead of the July 25 matchup. Mander was interviewed by Olympic officials, however, denies any involvement in the scandal and has been cleared of wrongdoing.

Past offences

This is not the first time Canadian football has been mired in controversy involving spying with drones. In 2021, Honduras stopped a training session after spotting a drone hovering overhead ahead of a World Cup qualifying match against Canada in 2021.

A full report is yet to come out; however, FIFA is investigating Canada Soccer on the issue.

Canada´s women´s team are the defending gold medalists after defeating Sweden on penalties 3-2 at Tokyo 2020 and will play their debut against New Zealand on July 25 at 17:00 local time.