by The Canadian Women’s National Team has finally concluded head coach Beverly Priestman will not return. After an independent investigation into the Olympic drone spying incident, Canada Soccer decided not to have Priestman return as head coach. Two other coaches were involved: assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi. All three coaches are currently serving a one-year FIFA ban. Lombardi resigned shortly after being sent home from the Olympics. Canada Soccer said in a news release that all three coaches will not return to the team.
The Tokyo Olympics
Before we can get into the official cheating scandal, we need to talk about the lead-up. While none of the allegations in 2021 were ever confirmed, these instances still need to be discussed. In January, the Canadian Women’s National team first qualified for the 2020 Olympics during the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Canada went through the Olympic Group stages and quarterfinals to beat the United States 1-0 in the semifinal match. They drew with Sweden after the original 90 minutes of the gold medal match. The game went to a penalty shoot-out, ending in Canada’s favor. Canada Women’s Soccer walked away from the 2020 Olympics with a gold medal.
Other Allegations
Multiple federations have come forward with their own allegations against Canada Soccer, including the U.S. Soccer Federations, which accused both the Canadian men’s and women’s teams of spying. Most recently, the Canada men’s team allegedly used drones to spy on teams during the 2024 Copa America Tournament. Honduras stopped a training session in Canada because someone had spotted a drone flying over the practice. This was during training for a World Cup qualifying match.
The Paris Olympics
The offense for Canada Soccer occurred during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. On Monday, July 22, the New Zealand women’s soccer team suspended practice and reported to French Police that a drone had been flying over the training session. The authorities in Saint-Étienne traced the drone back to Canadian analyst Joseph Lombardi. Canada and New Zealand were slated to play that Thursday.
On Wednesday, July 24, the Canadian Olympic Committee sent Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, who he reported to, back to Canada. Head coach Beverly Priestman stated that she did not direct staff to use drones. She also noted that she would voluntarily step away from the Olympics and apologize to New Zealand. In the apology, she said: “does not represent the values that our team stands for.“ The Canadian Soccer Federation announced that there would be an official investigation, and FIFA announced that it would be holding disciplinary hearings.
Punishments
In a swift investigation, FIFA announced on Saturday, July 27, that Priestman, Mander, and Lombardi “were each found responsible for offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.“ All of them were given a one-year ban from soccer, and the Canadian women’s soccer team was docked six points in the group stages. After an independent investigation, Canada Soccer announced that the three staffers would not return to their duties once their suspensions concluded. In separate statements, Canada Soccer’s chief executive officer, general secretary, president, and board chair all said:
“The findings of the independent investigator reveal that the incident itself was a symptom of a difficult and unacceptable past culture within the national teams,”
Conclusion
Multiple sources have claimed that drone spying is a part of the culture at Canada Soccer. One even claimed that Canadian soccer is “obsessed“ with drone spying. Unfortunately, the 400-page investigation has not been released yet. While I find it hard to believe the statements made by the Canada Soccer coaching staff and administration, I do not think the plays had much involvement. Vanessa Gilles, a Canadian Women’s National Team defender, told the press, “We are not cheaters.“ Some want them to be stripped of their gold medal, but I do not think there is enough of the report out to make that judgment quite yet.
“Quite simply, while players on the national teams performed admirably, cultural standards and management of the programs dating back several years fell short of expectations.”
