Canada withholds funding for women’s football officials amid FIFA ban

The Canadian government has announced it will withhold funding for Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) officials involved in a drone spying scandal at the Paris Olympics.

The scandal has led to significant penalties from FIFA: Canada’s women’s team has been docked six points, head coach Bev Priestman has received a one-year ban, and CSA officials Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander have been suspended from all football activities for a year.

Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s sports minister, criticized the use of a drone to monitor New Zealand’s training session, calling it “cheating.” She described the situation as “deeply regrettable,” adding that it has caused “significant distraction and embarrassment for Team Canada and all Canadians.”

Qualtrough emphasised that the move undermines the integrity of the game and is “completely unfair to Canadian players and to opposing teams.” As a result, the Canadian government, through Sport Canada, has decided to withhold funding for the suspended officials during their FIFA sanction.

Canadian Olympic Committee chief David Shoemaker indicated that there is concern the scandal could tarnish Canada’s women’s football gold medal from the Tokyo Games. Reports suggest that drones were used in previous tournaments, further complicating the situation.

Qualtrough also mentioned a “deeply concerning pattern of behavior” at Canada Soccer and vowed to closely monitor the ongoing investigation. She highlighted that the Future of Sport in Canada Commission is working on recommendations for improvements to the Canadian sport system.

In the interim, Canada, under assistant coach Andy Spence due to Priestman’s suspension, won their opening Group A game against New Zealand. However, FIFA’s sanctions have left them with a minus-three points tally, with upcoming matches against France and Colombia.