Former Canada women’s football coach Bev Priestman has said she “didn’t feel safe” living in North America following her one-year ban for spying at the Paris Olympics.
Wellington Phoenix announced Wednesday that Priestman would take over as head coach of their women’s team, returning to football in the country she was banned for spying on with a drone, New Zealand. She has signed a two-year contract.
The 39-year-old was visibly emotional as she discussed her suspension, and how nervous she is to be returning to the sport.
“I didn’t feel safe,” Priestman said of living in Canada after the Olympics. “That’s being brutally honest. It was very difficult for my family, and I have to live with that.
“Obviously it was an absolute media frenzy. You’ve got people knocking at your door and everything, and I’ve got a little boy. Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult. We knew we had to get out of that country.”
Fifa banned Priestman for one year after her coaching team used a drone to snoop on New Zealand before they played at the Paris Games.
New Zealand had spotted drones flying over their training sessions before their opening match and reported it to officials. An investigation found the Canadian team had been spying on rival training sessions for some time.
Priestman said she is prevented from speaking about the situation in detail, due to ongoing legal discussions. But on her return to New Zealand she said she had talked to players and officials.
She said the move to Wellington was an opportunity to “reset” her career, and rebuild.
On Tuesday night, hours after her ban was lifted, she ran her first coaching session in more than a year.
“I celebrated last night coaching the under-7s, my son’s team, in the pouring Wellington rain,” Priestman said. “That was a nice, humbling experience. They got all the energy from me in that moment because I’ve just been itching to do that.”
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Priestman won the Olympic gold with Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and is the best credentialed coach to come to the women’s A League. She said she had learned from her ban, and her experience with Canada, and would be a better coach for it.
“There’s certain values that I hold and unfortunately, you know, things around me have clouded my judgement,” Priestman said. “So for me personally, I just want to get back to… I love working with people. I love getting the best out of people. I love being on a football pitch.
“I just want to create a special moment for this city, for this country and move forward.”
Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said he was “really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football”.
“We all know she’s had a period of time away from the game, but we understand the circumstances and we’re really comfortable with this appointment. Bev can’t wait to get started, and we’re really happy that she’s going to be coaching the Phoenix.”