The coaches of the Canadian women’s and men’s soccer teams were so obsessed with obtaining information about their opponents that they forced their employees to participate in espionage, Radio-Canada has learned.
The espionage program went on for years until the coach was caught spying on his opponents at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Over the past few months, Radio-Canada has spoken to at least 20 former employees, managers, agents, coaches and staff associated with Canada Soccer. Radio-Canada is not releasing their identities due to the potential professional consequences.
Sources say what happened in France is just the tip of the iceberg. In that incident, a Canada Soccer employee associated with the Canada women’s soccer team was caught flying a drone over the New Zealand team during training. The culture of espionage within the organization began many years ago, when John Hardman was the head coach of the women’s soccer team.
The Canadian government suspects that Hardman began spying on opponents with drones. This is what Canada Soccer said in a statement submitted to FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
According to multiple sources, since Hardman took over in 2018, the men’s national team coaches have been using drones for espionage. The trend has continued.
Radio-Canada sources also said that Hardman passed the practice on to her successor, Bev Priestman. She is currently suspended and is awaiting the results of an independent Canadian government investigation into drone espionage. The results of the review are expected to be made public.
A former member of the Canadian women’s soccer team said that Bev Priestman worked with John Hardman and was her mentor. The drones were an integral part of her training.
Hardman began coaching the women’s soccer team in 2011 and led Canada to bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. During this time, English-born Bev Priestman was one of her assistants. In 2020, she became the head coach of the national women’s soccer team and led the team to gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
