Leading football nations deny use of drones after Canada coach Priestman claims
The French, German and Zambian women’s national football teams deny using drones to spy on opponents’ training sessions.
In an internal email, Canada coach Bev Priestman, who has been banned for a year by FIFA after admitting to using drone surveillance during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, accused the top 10 teams of using the same secret methods.
“…for scouting it can be the difference between winning and losing and all the top 10 teams do it,” Priestman wrote in an internal email dated March 20, 2024.
However, after the top-ranked federations – Spain, France, Germany, USWNT, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Colombia, New Zealand, Nigeria and Zambia – were defeated at the Paris Olympics, The AthleticsSeveral denied this and dismissed Priestman’s claims.
“We simply want to say that the French Football Federation never uses espionage methods on opposing teams,” the French Football Federation (FFF) said. “We also add that, if the email does exist, we strongly reject these unfounded accusations.”
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“Team Zambia does not use drones to spy on our opponents,” a Team Zambia spokesperson said. “Our approach to match preparation is based on traditional methods of analysis and scouting.
“We respectfully disagree with Ms Priestman’s assertion that ‘all top 10 teams’ engage in such practices. Team Zambia maintains high ethical standards in our preparation and competition strategies.
“While we recognise the importance of thorough match analysis, we achieve this through legitimate means that do not involve undue surveillance of other teams.
“Our focus remains on developing the skills, teamwork and tactical understanding of our players through our dedicated technical bench and analysts. We believe in fair play and competing with integrity on the world stage.”
The German women’s national team also denies using drones to spy on opponents’ training sessions. The team will not comment on Priestman’s allegations.
Spain, the US National Forces, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Colombia, New Zealand and Nigeria did not respond. The Athletics‘s request for comment.
England, Sweden and the Netherlands, who were among FIFA’s top 10 when Priestman sent her email in March but are not at the Olympics, were also contacted for comment.
The English Football Association declined to comment on the record, but officials privately denied that the use of drones to monitor opponents’ preparations was part of the team’s approach to preparing for matches. Sweden also denied using drones, while the Netherlands did not comment.
Priestman has been suspended from football for one year (Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports)
New Zealand, Canada’s first opponent in Paris, filed a complaint with local police after staff spotted a drone flying over their training session before the opening match.
The drone was traced to its operator, Joseph Lombardi, who was a “non-accredited analyst” with the Canadian women’s team, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) said.
Reigning champions Canada were stripped of six points in their Olympic qualifying group and fined £175,720 by FIFA. Preistman, Lombardi and another official, Jasmine Mender, were banned for a year.
Canada’s appeal to overturn the points deduction was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday, just hours before Canada qualified for the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Colombia, with assistant coach Andy Spence now coaching the team in Priestman’s absence.
Canada Sport said in a statement that it was “disappointed” that its appeal was denied, adding that it “continues to believe our players should not have been unnecessarily punished for actions that were not their own.”
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(Top photo: Alex Grimm – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
