The French, German and Zambian national women’s football teams have denied using drones to spy on opposition training sessions.

In an internal email, Canada head coach Bev Priestman, who has been suspended by FIFA for a year after admitting to using drone surveillance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, accused the top 10 teams of deploying the same covert methods.

“…for scouting it can be the difference between winning and losing and all top 10 teams do it,” Priestman wrote in an internal email dated March 20, 2024.

However, after the highest-ranked federations — Spain, France, Germany, USWNT, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Colombia, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Zambia — at the Paris Olympics were contacted by The Athletic, several denied this was the case and rebuked Priestman’s claims.

“We only wish to state that the French Federation is never using any spying methods on the opponents’ teams,” the French Football Federation (FFF) said. “We also add that, if the mail does exist, we strongly reject these baseless accusations.”

GO DEEPER

Canada’s Olympic soccer spying scandal explained: What we know, who’s involved and what’s next

“Team Zambia does not use drones to spy on our opponents,” said a spokesperson for Team Zambia. “Our approach to match preparation…

The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday upheld a six-point Olympic tournament deduction for the Canadian women’s soccer team in a drone spying scandal, affirming FIFA’s choice to heavily limit the reigning gold medalist facing sharp questions about its tactics to engineer a repeat.

The dismissal of Canada’s appeal came hours before the entire field, with 12 teams split among three divisions, was set to compete in the final games of group play, a decisive moment with four teams to be eliminated by the end of Wednesday night.

It also came as FIFA released a full report of the findings that led to its decision to punish Canada for using a drone to watch New Zealand practice ahead of their Olympic opener. The report revealed a damning picture of Canada’s use of drones to surveil opposing training sessions.

Emails from Bev Priestman, Canada’s coach who was sent home from the Olympics as national officials tried to shield players from fallout, mentioned regular spying in both men’s and women’s soccer, which Priestman described in one correspondence as something that “can be the difference between winning and losing.”

An attorney for Priestman did not return a message seeking comment.

On the pitch, the immediate implications were stark for Canada, which lost the…

In December 2023, the presence of 3,000 women at the Tehran derby between Persepolis and Esteghlal seemed to indicate progress in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Female fans had been banned from attending men’s matches across the country since 1981, two years after the nation’s Islamic Revolution. For more than four decades, female protestors and campaigners tried to circumvent the ban — often by dressing up as men. The state responded with arrests, beatings and forced exiles.

Despite women returning to some football stadiums in restricted numbers, they are still not universally allowed to attend matches in Iran. They remain forbidden in several stadiums and there is no clarity from Iranian authorities or FIFA on their attendance, though the two parties are in ongoing dialogue about these issues.

Following the Tehran derby, FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram in December: “Thanks to the ongoing dialogue between FIFA and the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (FFIRI), progress is being made.” In the same post, Infantino said that at a recent meeting with then-Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi — who died in a helicopter crash in May of this year — he had raised the “development of women’s football in the country and progress made regarding…

What initially seemed to be an isolated incident of drone espionage by an overzealous staffer at the Paris Olympics has evolved into a far wider spying scandal that risks staining Canada’s reputation in international soccer.

It has now come to light that this week’s revelations may have just been the tip of the iceberg. Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue told reporters on Friday that he feared this problem ran much deeper than he initially assumed.

This has many in international soccer wondering: what happens now? Will Canada Women, the reigning gold medalists, be removed from the competition? When did staff start leaning on drones for surveillance? How many people knew?

These are the questions that need answering as the scandal rumbles on.

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Was spying systemic within Canadian soccer culture?

That is seeming more likely as each day passes. Blue alluded to this on Friday when he said he feared the incident was not isolated.

“The more I learn about this specific matter, the more concerned I get about a potential long-term, deeply embedded systemic culture of this type of thing occurring, which is obviously completely unacceptable,” Blue said. “I’ve been receiving a lot of anecdotal feedback about the history of the issue as it relates to both programs, as it relates to the…

Full Time Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s weekly women’s soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox.

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Welcome to the last pre-Olympics installment of Full Time! We’ll be in your inbox the day after every USWNT appearance during the Paris Games.

As you pass the time before the tournament kicks off later this week(!), be sure to listen to today’s “Full Time with Meg Linehan” podcast, which previews all three groups. During the Olympics, new episodes hosted by Tamerra Griffin and Steph Yang — featuring Meg in France — will drop after every game, too.

Let’s go!

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Bookmark This: A guide to every USWNT player

Perhaps the nicest thing a neutral observer could say about the USWNT’s recent friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica is that they’re over now.  It’s clear that these 180 minutes were used as a quasi-competitive training drill, refining patterns of play ahead of the real competition.

Now, Emma Hayes’ side is out of dress rehearsals, with the 2024 Olympics set to commence this week. The United States’ first game is against Zambia on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET (again, we’ll have a newsletter after each U.S. game!).

With the Games finally upon us, Jeff Rueter pulled together a comprehensive guide to every…

As is customary after a summer of major tournaments, various international managerial jobs are now vacant.

As is customary, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive.

As is customary, there doesn’t appear to be any common theme across the names linked to major jobs.

Take the England job. According to the bookmakers’ odds, the four most likely names are Eddie Howe, Graham Potter, Lee Carsley and Mauricio Pochettino. Two are homegrown managers who have performed solidly at club level. One is the current England Under-21 manager, who has limited club-coaching experience. The other is a foreign manager — albeit one with considerable experience in English football — who has coached major clubs.

The apparent contenders for the United States men’s national team job are equally varied. There is a raft of MLS candidates — Jim Curtin, Steve Cherundolo, Wilfried Nancy. Then there is David Wagner, a former U.S. international who hasn’t coached in the country. There is Herve Renard, an international specialist currently coaching the France women’s side at the Olympics. There’s also Thierry Henry, who is doing the equivalent with the France men’s side, and…

The French Football Federation (FFF) says Chelsea have recalled Lesley Ugochukwu from his participation with the France Olympic squad.

Ugochukwu was named in Thierry Henry’s preliminary selection for the under-23 tournament in his home country in June but missed out on a place in the condensed 18-man squad earlier this month.

However, Olympic football rules allow teams to take up to four replacements that can come in for any injured players in the initial selection at any time during the tournament, and then return to replacement status if the player returns to fitness. U.S. women’s head coach Emma Hayes said last week she sees it as a 22-player squad. As the Olympics is not a tournament within a FIFA window, club sides are allowed to block their players from participating.

Ugochukwu joined Chelsea from Rennes for around £23.5million ($30.3m) last summer. The 19-year-old featured regularly as a rotation option in the first half of the season but suffered a hamstring injury that saw him miss most of the second half of the campaign, ending with 15 appearances across competitions.

The Athletic reported earlier this month that Chelsea were reviewing loan options for Ugochukwu, with the club’s priority that the midfielder spends the season at another Premier League team….

It is the kind of story you would expect on a Netflix crime documentary: a blackmail plot, a leaked sex video, a family deception and an international footballer who has gone from being the victim to the accused.

That player is on the books of Nottingham Forest and currently in Spain with the rest of head coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad, where the Premier League club are preparing for a series of pre-season fixtures.

Hwang Ui-jo, a South Korea international with 62 caps, was charged by prosecutors in his homeland’s capital Seoul last week for allegedly filming sexual encounters with two women without permission on four occasions from June to September 2022. He has been ruled out of contention for selection by the South Korean national team since last November and, if convicted, the offences carry up to a maximum seven years in prison.

“The victim hopes the truth will prevail and that Hwang learns his lesson and realises how much damage his actions have caused,” Lee Eun-eui, the lawyer representing one of the women, has told The Athletic. “To be honest, the victim is in such a state of disbelief and pain she can’t even articulate what she wants to see happen next.”

GO DEEPER

UK legal reporting restrictions and why comments are sometimes turned off

Court proceedings…

Bayern Munich’s Lena Oberdorf will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics after sustaining a severe knee injury.

The 22-year-old suffered a cruciate and medial collateral ligament issue in her right knee during Germany’s European Championship 2025 qualifier against Austria on Tuesday evening , which ended in a 4-0 victory.

As a result, Oberdorf will miss the Games with the German national team and a significant portion of the upcoming season for Bayern.

“This is a severe blow and we all feel for Lena. We’ll support her on her way back and be there for her in every respect. Lena is a fighter and there’s a lot to come from her,” said Bianca Rech, director of Bayern Women.

GO DEEPER

Germany reach 2024 Paris Olympics with Nations League victory over Netherlands

The injury is a major setback for both Oberdorf and her new club. The defensive midfielder was expected to be a key player for Bayern following her move from VfL Wolfsburg  ahead of the 2024-25 season.

It was confirmed earlier in February that Bayern had agreed a deal to sign Oberdorf. She has signed a deal with the Frauen-Bundesliga side until 2028, but will now face a rehabilitation period before she can make her debut.

Oberdorf had been a standout player for Wolfsburg, making 71 league appearances and scoring 17 goals. Her…

Brazil have named their 22-player women’s football training squad for the 2024 Olympics.

The Copa America Femenina holders have named a strong squad with the nation’s all-time record goalscorer Marta (118 goals in 183 caps) included.

Marta’s Orlando Pride team-mates Rafaelle, Angelina and Adriana are also named in Arthur Elias’s squad, while Houston Dash’s Tarciane, Kerolina of North Carolina Courage and Kansas City Current’s Lauren also make the squad.

Corinthians — who have won each of the last four Brazilian league titles — have six representatives in the squad, including 148-time capped defender Tamires.

12 teams will play in the women’s football tournament at the 2024 Games with three groups of four; as the top two from each group progress alongside the two best third-placed teams in the group.

Brazil open their group stage against Nigeria on July 25 before playing Japan three days later and concluding their group stage against world champions Spain on July 31.

Prazer, @JogosOlimpicos! Estamos prontas. Chegou a hora. Mais um capítulo da nossa história sendo escrito.

Com vocês, o elenco de atletas que irão representar com muito orgulho a #SeleçãoFeminina! pic.twitter.com/YS3RPhLDyR

— Seleção Feminina de Futebol (@SelecaoFeminina) July 2,…