The Olympic women’s soccer tournament is starting with some unexpected drama, following a complaint from New Zealand’s Olympic Committee concerning a potential attempt at spying on a training session ahead of the Paris Games.
A drone was flown over a Ferns training session in Saint-Étienne on July 22, New Zealand’s Olympic Committee (NZOC) said in a statement Tuesday in France. Ferns staffers reported the drone to police, who detained the operator, identified as a staff member of the “wider Canadian Women’s Football team,” according to the statement. The NZOC logged the incident to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) integrity unit and asked Canada’s Olympic Committee for a review.
New Zealand and Canada are in Group A for the Olympic tournament, along with France and Colombia.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) issued its own statement Wednesday, clarifying that the drone operator was a “non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team” but confirming that that staff member “is believed to have been using a drone to record the New Zealand women’s football team during practice.”
The COC apologized to New Zealand’s players, federation and the Olympic Committee, saying it was “shocked and disappointed.”
As of early Wednesday in France, it’s unclear what consequences there could be for the alleged attempt to record another team’s training session. The COC said it plans to discuss next steps with the IOC, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer and FIFA, and would provide an update later Wednesday.
Drones have been a story across Paris 2024, with French prime minister Gabriel Attal saying Tuesday that an average of six drones per day have been intercepted at Olympic sites.
The women’s football tournament begins play on July 25. Canada and New Zealand open action in Group A at 5 p.m. local/11 a.m. ET in Saint-Étienne. Canada is currently ranked 8th in the world, according to FIFA, while New Zealand is ranked 28th.
(Photo: Jean-Pierre Clatot / AFP via Getty)
