Hello all, welcome back to a post that I never wanted to make. However, it is my job to report on the things going on inside the football world, and especially inside Canada. The news coming from the Olympics so far is bad. Really bad.
Going into the Olympic games, Canadians were excited to see how their side would do in women’s football. Especially considering the men’s team failure to qualify for the tournament meaning that the women carried the load for football. Football being one of the only events played prior to the opening ceremonies also meant that football would be a kind of tone-setter for the country for the games. Would they set the tone well? No, of course they wouldn’t.
Reports circulated some days before Canada’s opener against New Zealand that the players saw drones flying over their private training session, and a video emerged of said drone flying over the session. Canada Soccer initially tried to play it off as nothing, and put out a statement denouncing what they said was a “non-accredited” member of the team doing it without the knowledge of the federation. However, it would soon come out that this wasn’t exactly the case.
Reports soon came out after the statement that flying drones over other teams’ practices is a common practice for Canada, and has been happening for “years”, according to a TSN report. It was reported that the practice was part of many people’s jobs, and higher-ups within Canada Soccer threatened people’s jobs if they didn’t oblige. There were also other types of spying taking place by Canada Soccer, with people hiding behind bushes, fences, and in trees to hide their spying. It was also alleged that the spying also took place for the men’s team as well, and their opponents, under head coach John Herdman, who has since left to take the reins at Toronto FC.
FIFA soon conducted their own private investigation, despite their historically rocky relationship with the Olympic committee, and found enough to ban Women’s coach Bev Priestmann for a year, and worked with the committee to deduct Canada six points from their Olympic group, which, even if Canada win all 3 games and end on 3 points, would likely still not be enough to advance, depending on results from other games within the group.
Longtime captain and football legend Christine Sinclair released a statement on July 26 about the incident, where she called the actions “condemnable” and claimed that the players didn’t know about the practice, and that she will continue to support the players that took gold in the 2021 Olympic Games.
Another report came out and claimed that new head coach Jesse Marsch was approached about using the practice prior to the Copa America, but rejected the proposal, stating that spying on other teams “wasn’t a part of his coaching philosophy”.
It’s yet to be seen if FIFA will punish Canada further for the spying scandal, after Canada’s shock 4th place finish at this summer’s Copa America. The punishments that FIFA may give to Canada for this scandal could range from what they’ve given so far to potentially revoking Canada’s place at the 2026 World Cup, despite their hosting it, although that punishment is quite unlikely.
My thoughts on this scandal is that it’s absolutely ridiculous – plenty of teams do quite well without feeling the need to spy on other teams’ training sessions. It’s also very un-Canadian, as we’re a country that prides ourselves on our manners and doing things properly. We don’t need to do all of that nonsense, leave that to other countries. We do things properly.
We should fire every person involved in this practice and stop it absolutely immediately. This week, as news has been coming out about this scandal, I’ve felt a little ashamed of being Canadian, and anyone who makes you feel that way about your country, when their job, ultimately, is to do the opposite should be fired on the spot.
This news also comes as a gut punch after Canada’s 4th place finish at the Copa America this summer. Canada were looking like a team that could only cut it in CONCACAF after their 0-point showing in Qatar back in 2022, but the Copa America changed that narrative and set up an exciting World Cup in 2-years time on home soil, but this scandal has put a damper on things. However, by taking the steps that I want them to take, they can put this scandal behind them and hopefully save their public image before the 2026 World Cup. For now though, I’m Jim James, until next time.