Soccer teams in Canada have been using drones for years

Soccer and Drones: A Final Report on the “Spying Techniques in the Women’s National Soccer Team” at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games

Kevin Blue said in a statement that more information had come to his attention regarding previous use of drones against opponents. “In light of these new revelations, Canada Soccer has made the decision to suspend Women’s National Soccer Team Head Coach, Bev Priestman for the remainder of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and until the completion of our recently announced independent external review.”

It would’ve been a big enough scandal had this been a one-off, but TSN’s report cites sources close to the matter saying the team used the same tactics during the women’s team’s gold medal run at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and a Women’s World Cup qualifier game against Panama in 2022. The US men’s team was filmed practicing for the World Cup qualification match against Honduras in 2021, it has been reported.

We are pondering a professional way to get to the bottom of the situation. Kevin Blue, CEO of Canada Soccer said that the organization will make decisions about what to do about it once they’re confident that the information is true.

PARIS — The coach of the Canadian women’s national soccer team has been suspended from the sport for a year after a spying scandal at this summer’s Olympic Games, a FIFA disciplinary panel announced Saturday.

In addition, Canada’s Olympic team — which is defending the gold medal won in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 — will be penalized with a deduction of six points from its group stage total, FIFA said, a move that essentially guarantees the team will be eliminated from contention.

A decision was issued Saturday by the sport’s international governing body, following revelations that have roiled the women’s Olympics soccer tournament, a premiere global event that is second only to the World Cup in importance.

On Friday, when the details began to come to light about the spying, the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee, David Shoemaker, said, “We continue to be shocked and disappointed.” He went on to tell reporters, “We feel very much frustrated as I’m sure all Canadians do at this point.”

An apology to Beverly Priestman for refusing to play against New Zealand in a world cup final on July 22, 2008, at the Michon stadium

He admitted during questioning that he took pictures of the New Zealand players in the Michon stadium in Saint-Etienne and showed them to their trainer, but the footage taken on July 22 shows the players applying instructions to themselves.

Beverly Priestman initially said that she would sit out of Canada’s match against New Zealand. (Canada won 2-1.)