© Copyright – 2024 – Athletics Illustrated
While athletics is not immune to cheating, quite the contrary, Canadian women’s soccer cheating will be a game changer. Head Coach Beverly Priestman should be fired.
Canada Soccer needs to fire Priestman, full stop. She is the suspended head coach of the women’s national team. Priestman needs to go due to the coach’s role in Dronegate.
The coaching staff were found to have been involved in flying a drone over closed practices of Team New Zealand. Priestman has been suspended and her income is held back by Sport Canada.
That is not good enough. Canadians are hyper-sensitive to fair play and will demand Priestman’s firing.
Risk Management
By far, the most monitored entity in sport in Canada is risk management. After charges and convictions of abuse by coaches — who have taken their positions of power over athletes for personal gain — the public had enough. Cheating in sport is viewed with the same concern as abuse.
Now, to enter into the most elementary levels of coaching certification and volunteerism, coaches must take courses from Safe Sport.
Priestman does not represent the fair play credo demanded by the Canadian Olympic Committee, Safe Sport, Soccer Canada, Sport Canada, the players or the public.
Two assistant coaches were also suspended. If the assistant coaches are found to know of or participate in spying on other teams, they too must be fired.
FIFA suspended Priestman and docked Canada — the defending Olympic Champions — six points. Canada will need to win out to have a chance at medalling. Retired superstar Christine Sinclair said that at no time had she seen drone video footage of other team’s practices.
If the players never viewed the footage and had no knowledge of the spying, then FIFA may have acted too fast. FIFA docked the team six points. It was a hair-trigger decision.
With their backs to the wall, Canada defeated host France 2-1 on Sunday. Assistant coach Andy Spence was at the helm.
Qualtrough acting swiftly
Canadian sports minister Carla Qualtrough announced that the government is withholding some of Canada Soccer’s funding as a result of the scandal.
“Using a drone to surveil another team during a closed practice is cheating,” Qualtrough said. “It is completely unfair to Canadian players and to opposing teams. It undermines the integrity of the game itself.”
Funding sources for Team Canada come from Canadian taxpayers, FIFA and CONCACAF and FIFA 2026 in the form of grants.
Qualtrough wants to get to the bottom of the situation. Expect a thorough investigation. If spying is cheating, then cheating warrants immediate dismissal.
Priestman’s apology assumes a return
“I am absolutely heartbroken for the players, and I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for the impact this situation has had on all of them,” Priestman said.
The statement was sent a couple of hours before Canada took on host France in Saint-Etienne.
“I know how hard they have worked following a very difficult year in 2023, and that they are a group of people who care very much about sportsmanship and integrity. As the leader of the team on the field, I want to take accountability, and I plan to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
