Banned Canada coach explains move to New Zealand: 'I didn't feel safe'
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Wellington Phoenix announced Wednesday that Priestman would take over as head coach of its 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.
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The 39-year-old was visibly emotional as she discussed her suspension, and how nervous she is to be returning to the sport.
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'I didn't feel safe,' Priestman said of living in Canada after the Olympics.
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'That's being brutally honest. It was very difficult for my family, and I have to live with that.
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'Obviously it was an absolute media frenzy. You've got people knocking at your door and everything, and I've got a little boy.
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'Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult. We knew we had to get out of that country.'
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Governing body 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.
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New Zealand had spotted drones flying over their training sessions before their opening match and reported it to officials.
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An investigation found the Canadian team had been spying on rival training sessions for some time.
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Priestman said she is prevented from speaking about the situation in detail, due to ongoing legal discussions.
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But on her return to New Zealand she said she had talked to players and officials.
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She said the move to Wellington was an opportunity to 'reset' her career, and rebuild.
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On Tuesday night, hours after her ban was lifted, she ran her first coaching session in more than a year.
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'I celebrated last night coaching the under-7s, my son's team, in the pouring Wellington rain,' Priestman said.
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'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.
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She said she had learned from her ban, and her experience with Canada, and would be a better coach for it.
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'There's certain values that I hold and unfortunately, you know, things around me have clouded my judgement,' Priestman said.
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'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.
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'I just want to create a special moment for this city, for this country and move forward.'
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Wellington Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said he was 'really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football'.
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