Canada Soccer Federation just can’t seem to catch a break. Fresh controversy surrounded the CanWNT in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 after they were found guilty in the drone spying incident. While it saw the Canucks face consequences, another eyebrow-raising incident has now come to light just before their quarterfinal clash vs Germany, which may further increase the challenges for them.

This startling revelation comes from TSN writer Rick Westhead, who reported that before Canada men’s FIFA U17 World Cup qualifier at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, on May 12, 2019, a few members of the coaching staff used a drone to spy on Costa Rica’s closed training. It was the very same match that saw the CanMNT’s U17 side later go on to win on penalties to advance to the World Cup in Brazil, eventually failing to advance to the knockout stages.

The source further disclosed that Canada Soccer’s coaching staff faced immediate condemnation from IMG for operating a drone above the legal altitude limit in the academy, which is 6.8 miles away from the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. However, this is just one part of the whole spying controversy as Canada has witnessed other close calls.

In 2021, while the CanMNT was preparing to play Honduras in a World Cup qualifier in Toronto, the Honduran team was forced to cut short one of their training sessions after spotting a drone overhead. Although there were allegations that the Canadians were responsible, these were never proven. Subsequently, a year later, Panama’s football federation accused Canada Soccer of sending an employee to spy on a closed practice.

However, CONCACAF spokesman Nick Noble confirmed that while Panama filed a complaint, the case was dropped due to lack of evidence. But to further complicate matters, a story came to light.

Bev Priestman’s leaked emails keep Canada Soccer Federation in hot waters

After the Court of Arbitration for Sport tribunal dismissed the appeal made by the CanWNT and COC regarding their 6-point deduction and the 1-year suspension of Bev Priestman and her assistant coaches Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, FIFA released a document which stated all the email conversations that took place on March 20 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 email that Joey Lombardi, who was recently sentenced to 8 months in prison for spying on New Zealand, was consulted along with the wider tech team to seek new strategies.

In another mail, Priestman even emphasized that spying and its resorts can be the “difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it.” Meanwhile, one email saw the British tactician seek advice from Canadian Soccer’s external HR by exposing the CanMNT: “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.”

Interestingly, the FIFA document also noted that the Canada Soccer Federation suspected John Herdman of initiating the spying program while he coached the WNT from 2011-2018, during which Priestman worked as a technical and assistant coach. Herdman also coached the MNT from 2018-2023.

Be that as it may, matters are going from bad to worse for Canada. It remains to be seen if the latest revelation creates problems for CanXNT ahead of their quarter-final clash vs Germany.