New Zealand urge Fifa to take action over drone ‘spy’ incident at Olympics

The police and Fifa have been urged to take action over concerns that Olympics champions Canada have spied on New Zealand ’s training sessions ahead of Paris 2024 .

New Zealand Football boss Andrew Pragnell has accused the Canada women’s team of using a drone to gather information in preparation for their tournament opener on Thursday.

The incident has now been reported to Fifa, while New Zealand’s Olympic Committee has alerted the police and the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit.

"There is no place for this type of action in football and it is critical that urgent action is undertaken to address this integrity breach," Pragnell said in a statement on Thursday.

"To hear now that the Canadian team had filmed secret footage of our team training at least twice is incredibly concerning and if not treated urgently could have wider implications for the integrity of the tournament."

Canada coach Bev Priestman will not be fulfilling her opening match duties after her assistant coach and team analyst were booted out of the Games on Wednesday amid drone flying allegations.

With Fifa initiating its disciplinary proceedings , Canada Soccer have expressed their commitment to cooperate by launching an independent review into the matter.

Canada won their first gold medal in football by defeating Sweden in a dramatic penalty shootout after reaching the final of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Yet, despite the champions demonstrating a willingness to resolve the situation, New Zealand are hoping for a more definitive decision to be made in the next few days.

"We note that there have been some admissions by the Canadian National Olympic Committee, and they have taken their own sanctions against the Canadian team," Pragnell added.

"However, considering the seriousness of the situation, and the potential implications to the sporting integrity of the entire tournament, we have referred the matter to the Fifa disciplinary committee seeking urgent action."