Former Canada coach Beverly Priestman has revealed she ‘felt unsafe’ living in the country following her one-year ban from football.
England-born Priestman and two members of Canada’s staff were banned following a spying scandal at the Paris Olympic Games last summer.
Priestman, who also served as England’s assistant manager to Phil Neville, has taken up her first job since she was banned from all football activity for 12 months by FIFA.
She left England to take on the Canada head coach role in October 2020, while Neville was replaced by Sarina Wiegman in 2021 – who has just won her second Women’s Euros title with the Lionesses.
The Lionesses are also second favourites to win the title for the third time in a row in 2029. UK betting websites have England at 3/1 odds, with Spain favourites despite their loss on Sunday.
After leaving Canada just over a year ago, the 39-year-old has now been appointed as manager of New Zealand side Wellington Phoenix.
Why was Beverly Priestman banned from football?
Beverly Priestman was handed a one-year football ban after a spying scandal at last year’s Paris Games.
A drone was used to spy on a training session held by opponents New Zealand before their opening group-stage match.
Priestman voluntarily withdrew from her side’s 2-1 victory over the Kiwis.
Canada then removed Priestman as their manager for the Olympics and she was suspended by the country’s football federation.
The decision was taken by Canada Soccer after they discovered previous drone use against opponents before the Olympics.
As well as a one-year ban from FIFA, she was also given a suspended eight-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to flying a drone in an urban area without a licence.
At the Olympics, Canada won all three of their group stage games, and somehow made it out of their group despite having six points docked for the incident.
They were knocked out on penalties by Germany in the quarter-finals.
Bev is here to win.
Watch the full interview here: https://t.co/g53ydRHLTF pic.twitter.com/TZu5IVQ5qD
— Wellington Phoenix 🔥 (@WgtnPhoenixFC) July 29, 2025
Beverly Priestman ‘didn’t feel safe’ living in Canada after spying ban
Beverly Priestman returned to management on Wednesday, one year and four days after Canada removed her as their head coach for the Olympic Games.
She will manage in New Zealand, the country whose training session she spied on while manager of Canada.
The new Wellington Phoenix boss said: “I didn’t feel safe [living in Canada].
“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.”
Beverly Priestman’s coaching career
During her early coaching career, Beverly Priestman led Canada’s U17 and U20 sides between 2013 and 2018.
She also coached England’s U17 side before becoming assistant to former Lionesses manager Phil Neville.
Priestman held this role between 2018 and 2020, when she then left for Canada. The Lionesses were knocked out in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup by the United States during her time in the role.
Priestman led Canada to Olympic gold at the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021. A year later, they finished runner-up to the United States in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship.
After a year out of football, she will hope to quickly find success with Wellington Phoenix.
