The Canadian soccer spy scandal apparently came as no surprise to the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Canada's women's Olympic soccer team had head coach Bev Priestman deducted points and suspended for a year last week after it was discovered she had been using a drone to secretly film a training session in Paris ahead of the Olympics.
According to ESPN's Sam Bowden, the U.S. Soccer Federation was aware of Canada's spying tactics long ago, even as Canada tried to spy on the U.S. team. The federation never reported it to the governing body because of the big projects the two countries were working on, such as co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Mexico.
“With so many bigger issues at stake, it just wasn't worth it,” a source told ESPN, “but that doesn't mean it wasn't important.”
There have been several cases in recent years where U.S. Soccer officials have caught people spying on practices. For example, in 2021, security guards at IMG Academy in Florida repeatedly caught a man spying on private training sessions of the men's team. When eventually confronted, the man admitted to working for the Canadian Soccer Association.
Earlier this month, a Canadian staff member was caught flying a drone over New Zealand's training in Paris ahead of their opening Olympic group game. The staff member was later charged by French police and was sent home from the Olympics along with Priestman and another assistant. Priestman served a one-match suspension himself before being sent home and did not attend the win over New Zealand. Assistant coach Andy Spence will manage Canada for the remainder of the Olympics.
A TSN report this week also alleges the spying dates back years. The women's team allegedly used drones to spy on opponents at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where they won gold, and during their quest to qualify for the 2022 Women's World Cup. The men's team also allegedly flew a drone over a training session in Honduras last year and attempted to fly one during a training session leading up to the Copa America earlier this summer.
The Canadian women's team next plays France on Sunday afternoon before finishing off their group stage against Colombia next week.
