Priestman 'felt unsafe' in Canada after spying ban

Former Canada women's coach Beverly Priestman says she did not feel safe remaining in the country following her one-year ban for spying at the 2024 Olympics.

The 39-year-old was appointed head coach of New Zealand women's side Wellington Phoenix on Wednesday.

It is Priestman's first role since she was banned from football activity for 12 months by Fifa following a spying scandal at the Paris Games last summer.

England-born Priestman and two other members of Canada's staff were banned after a drone was used to spy on a training session held by opponents New Zealand before their opening group-stage match.

Before a ban was issued, Priestman was removed as head coach by Canada Soccer after they discovered previous drone use against opponents which "predated" the Olympics.

"I didn't feel safe [living in Canada]," Priestman said.

"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."

As well as a one-year ban, Priestman was given an eight-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to flying a drone in an urban area without a licence.

In her absence, Canada made it out of the group stages at the Olympics - despite being docked six points for the incident.

They were knocked out by Germany on penalties at the quarter-final stage.

Priestman, who served as Phil Neville's assistant for two years with England's women, guided Canada to Olympic gold at Tokyo in 2021.