Things are going from bad to worse for Canada. The Canucks’ WNT side currently contesting in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 remained in the hot seat over a drone spying incident. Though they were punished for their wrongdoing, the case seems to be opening up itself as now the latest developments see some leaked emails of Bev Priestman that have surprisingly exposed the shocking secrets of CanMNT and its head coach John Herdman also spying on their rivals.

It was just days ago that CanWNT and COC appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport tribunal for their 6-points deduction and a 1-year suspension of Priestman and her assistant coaches Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander from soccer-related activities. However, their appeal was ruled over, with FIFA releasing a document, which quotes all the conversations that took place on March 20 via email between Priestman and Canadian soccer’s performance analyst.

“As discussed yesterday, in terms of the ‘spying’ conversation, I came off the meeting with the clarity you understood my reasons for me being unwilling to do this moving forward,” the analyst wrote. 

The performance analyst also wrote in the mail that Joey Lombardi—recently sentenced to prison for 8 months after having agreed to have spied on New Zealand—was also consulted alongside the wider tech team to ‘look for other solutions.’ The individual also confirmed Priestman that she won’t be asking the analyst to “fulfill the role of ‘spying’ in the upcoming and future camps.”

Priestman mentioned in the mail that many Canada Soccer employees collaborated with her coaching staff and one of them was ‘outstanding‘ in this area. The British tactician also highlighted that spying and its alternatives can be the “difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it.”

Notably, all the emails were provided by Canada Soccer to FIFA. However, it’s not just Priestman who has been using spying techniques at the CanWNT camp; issues related to this have been ongoing for a decade.

Bev Priestman is not alone as John Herdman comes out as the mastermind of spying for Canada

Another email saw Priestman having a conversation with Canada Soccer’s external human resources consultant on the exact day. “Seeking your advice and input here regarding this formal email on spying,” Priestman wrote. “It’s something the analyst has always done and I know there is a whole operation on the men’s side with regards to it.”

Likewise, in the FIFA document, the Canada Soccer Federation also wrote that they suspect the spying program was initiated by John Herdman when he coached the WNT between 2011-2018 with Priestman having worked under him as a technical and assistant coach between 2013-2018. Herdman also worked for the MNT from 2018-2023 before taking up the Toronto FC job in the MLS.

The Canadian Federation bluntly denied that it wasn’t them who facilitated the spying practice. Instead, they put all the blame on Herdman for giving it a go, with Priestman keeping the practice alive. “New Canada Soccer administration is supporting a full independent investigation of this issue and has already taken steps to ensure that this scouting tactic does not happen again,” said the document.

Meanwhile, Herdman confidently claimed to reports on July 26 that he never spied on competitors at any major tournaments like the World Cup or the Olympics. Yet, the former manager expressed his full cooperation during the investigation.

The Canucks’ stakeholders also clarified that the reason they are protesting over the point deduction is respect for the women’s team players, making it unfair for them to face the punishment. Regardless, it remains to be seen what developments unfold with this big revelation.