Canada Issues Apology Following Unauthorized Drone Activity During New Zealand Training.

The Canadian Olympic Committee has issued an apology following an incident where a Canada Soccer staff member allegedly operated a drone over a training session of the New Zealand women’s football team.

The incident took place on Monday in St Etienne, as both teams are set to face each other in Group A of the Olympic football tournament on Thursday.

The New Zealand Olympic Committeereported the incident externally and informed the police, resulting in the detainment of the drone operator. They expressed shock and disappointment over the incident.

The COC later confirmed that the individual responsible for the drone operation was a non-accredited member of the Canada Soccer support team, who has now been detained by authorities.

“The Canadian Olympic Committee upholds the principles of fair play, and we are truly shocked and disappointed,” stated the COC in an official statement.[1]

We sincerely apologize to New Zealand Football, all the affected players, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee for this unfortunate incident.

We are currently reviewing the situation in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee, Paris 2024, Canada Soccer, and FIFA. We will provide an update on the matter by Wednesday.

The NZOC has formally lodged a complaint regarding the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has requested a comprehensive review from Canada.

In response to the incident, Team Canada has issued an apology and initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The NZOC and New Zealand Football are fully committed to upholding the integrity and fairness of the Olympic Games. They are deeply shocked and disappointed by this event.

It is worth mentioning that Canada, under the leadership of British manager Beverly Priestman, achieved gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.