NICE, France — The women's Olympic soccer tournament kicked off with unexpected drama after the New Zealand Olympic Committee filed a complaint about possible attempts to spy on a training session ahead of the Paris Games.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) said in a statement on Tuesday that a drone was flown over a Ferns training session in Saint-Etienne, France on Monday. Ferns staff reported the drone to police, who detained the operator, who was identified as a member of the “Canadian women's national soccer team,” according to the statement. NZOC has logged the incident with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Integrity Division and has asked the Canadian Olympic Committee to investigate.
New Zealand and Canada are in Group A of the Olympic Games along with France and Colombia.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) released its own statement in Paris on Wednesday morning, clarifying that the drone operator was an “unauthorized member of the Canada Soccer Support Team,” but that a staff member confirmed that “the drone was believed to have been filming the New Zealand women's soccer team training.”
The COC apologised to New Zealand athletes, federations and the Olympic Committee, saying it was “shocked and disappointed”.
As of early Wednesday morning in France, it was unclear what the consequences of the alleged attempt to record another team's training session would be. The COC said it would discuss next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, the Canadian Soccer Federation and FIFA and would provide an update later on Wednesday.
Drones have been a hot topic throughout the Paris 2024 Games, with French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal saying on Tuesday that an average of six drones a day were being intercepted at Olympic sites.
The women's soccer tournament will kick off on July 25. Canada and New Zealand will begin their Group A match in Saint-Etienne at 5pm local time/11am ET. Canada is currently ranked 8th in the world, while New Zealand is ranked 28th, according to FIFA.
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(Photo: Jean-Pierre Crato/AFP via Getty)
