Emails reveal team's history of drone use, coach's complicity

Canadian women’s soccer head coach Bev Priestman discussed the practice of spying on opponents in an email chain with staffers and alleged that it was a standard operation on the men’s team, according to a FIFA document from an investigation into the drone scandal at the Paris Olympics.

- MARK COLLEY

It’s part of new allegations that add to the growing evidence indicating Canada Soccer has consistently spied on opponents. The scandal came to light just a day before the first women’s team’s match at the Summer Games last week when a Canadian assistant was arrested for flying a drone over a New Zealand team practice.

The document also outlines how Canada was repeatedly warned against using drones in Paris — and the pressures that led a staffer to rent a car, find New Zealand’s practice facility and record 20 minutes of training, only to spend three nights in prison and receive an eight-month suspended sentence.

The document included emails and other materials — including a police report, letters and statements — that were submitted by Canada Soccer, New Zealand Football and staffers for both organizations as part of the investigation.

According to the document, a Canadian women’s soccer performance analyst met with Priestman on March 19 to discuss spying — and why the analyst wouldn’t budge in their opposition to doing so.

The analyst — whose name was redacted in the document — was morally opposed, they wrote in an email to Priestman the next day, and felt their reputation was at risk.

“Just wanted to confirm that you will not be asking me to fulfil (sic) the role of ‘spying’ in the upcoming camp & future camps,” the analyst wrote in their email, according to the document. “I am sure you will respect my reasoning and thank you for your understanding.”

Priestman then forwarded the email to a colleague, believed to be in human resources.

“(Spying is) something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the men’s side with regards to it,” Priestman wrote, according to the document. “It can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it.”