The 2024 Paris Olympics are on the horizon. Yup, it’s that time again. Athletes worldwide will come to Paris and try to fulfill lifelong dreams. As they sleep on the plane, bus or in their rooms in the athlete’s village, visions of gold, silver and bronze medals will occupy their heads.
There are many sports to watch at the Paris Olympics. There is swimming, equestrian, cycling, fencing, water polo and even surfing. Of course, there is the biggest sport in the world. That is football or as we in Canada call it, soccer.
Canada women’s national team will participate in the Paris Olympics. They have qualified for every Olympic games since Beijing 2008. In London in 2012 and Rio in 2016, the Canadian women won bronze. But their biggest triumph was at Tokyo 2020 where they defeated Sweden on penalties.
In Paris, Canada will look to keep their golden crown. This article was supposed to be a quick preview of Canada’s Paris Olympics campaign and whether they could win another medal. But we got some developments as I was halfway through writing it and had to scrap it. And oh boy, these developments are not good.
Canada got caught spying
So for those who don’t know, Canada was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand’s training session on July 22 and July 20. Yes, a drone. Somehow Canada Soccer could afford a drone. By the way, Canada plays New Zealand to open their Paris Olympics campaign on June 25, a day before the opening ceremony.
It turns out FIFA launched an investigation into this. In particular, Canada head coach Bev Priestman and two staff members were investigated. Priestman also denied knowing about the drone.
Those two members were Joseph Lombardi, an uncredited analyst and Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach. Both were sent home and Priestman withdrew from coaching the game against New Zealand on Friday. Mandatory ethics training will also happen.
New Zealand’s Olympic committee released a statement and so did Canada Soccer. There will also be an internal investigation for Canada Soccer.
This story is developing. Sanctions could possibly be imposed on Canada Soccer. Yes, there were legal consequences as seen in this translated statement obtained by Devin Heroux of CBC from a prosecutor in Saint-Etienne, where the incident happened. Near the end, it says Lombardi is punishable by a maximum sentence of one year’s imprisonment and a fine of €45,000. He also accepted the eight-month sentence with his lawyer present.
Canada Soccer’s issues drone on
So the Paris Olympics were supposed to be an exciting team for Canada’s women’s team. But no, it is one step forward and two steps back thanks to an off-field issue.
You have to feel for the players. They have to compete while their federation is dealing with a scandal. It also makes you wonder how the relationships between them and the coaching staff will be going forward. Let’s face it, it won’t be good.
The players aren’t at fault here and they deserve every Canadian soccer fan’s support.
“We’re professionals, we’re an incredibly adaptable group of players,” said forward Janine Beckie to TSN on Wednesday. “Obviously, not having your coach is something but at the same time, we know we’re ready to perform. It comes down to just players performing on the pitch. I know that all 18 players on the roster tomorrow are ready to go.”
She was not afraid to share her disappointment.
“It does not reflect Canadians or who we are as competitors, so there’s a lot of disappointment there,” said Beckie.
Plain and simple: This is cheating. There is no need to spy on an opponent’s training session. Plus, there is game footage. That’s enough to use right?
It is disgraceful that this happened. It is a bad look for the team and Canada Soccer and a bad look for all the Canadian athletes and staff in the Paris Olympics.
This is really disappointing because the excitement for Canada trying to defend their gold medal has died. But instead, we got the drone incident. It’s going to be hard to focus on the actual games with this in mind.
As for Priestman and the rest of her staff, are they still around after the Olympics? Probably not, even if Canada wins a medal. The integrity of Canada Soccer is in shambles.
So…what’s next?
More details should be announced in the coming days. This thing won’t blow over quickly. This is only the beginning.
One normal day at Canada Soccer is all Canadian soccer fans ask for.