WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Disgraced former Canadian women’s national soccer head coach Bev Priestman has turned in a remarkable first performance since her one-year FIFA suspension ended, guiding the Wellington Phoenix women’s squad to its first-ever Australian A-League Women grand final, marking a stunning turnaround for both the coach and the underperforming club.
Priestman’s new side ultimately fell 3-1 to Melbourne Victory in Saturday’s championship decider, but the result masks extraordinary progress that few predicted before the season began. The Phoenix have struggled consistently across their four prior campaigns in the 11-team A-League, finishing dead last in their debut two seasons, then placing eighth and ninth in the following two years. This run to the final represents a quantum leap for the expansion side.
The Wellington Phoenix head coaching role is Priestman’s first senior position since she completed her 12-month ban from international football handed down by FIFA for violating fair play principles amid a 2024 Paris Olympics drone espionage scandal.
The England-born coach previously claimed Olympic glory, leading Canada to a gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games. But her career hit a crisis ahead of Canada’s opening 2024 Paris Olympic match against New Zealand, when an unauthorized drone was captured flying over a closed New Zealand team training session, in an incident that sparked global condemnation.
Two Canadian support staff were immediately sent home from the Games, and Priestman voluntarily stepped away from her coaching duties ahead of the team’s first match. Canada Soccer subsequently suspended her, launched a formal investigation, and ultimately terminated her contract as head coach. FIFA later issued a one-year ban over what it called “offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.”
Priestman received a second chance thousands of miles from her former post, with New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix offering her a two-year contract to rebuild their underperforming women’s program. At her introductory press conference after signing, the coach expressed gratitude for the opportunity to restart her career.
“I want to thank the club for having faith in me to return to the game,” Priestman said at the time. “For me, coming back has felt like the right move. Today is a good day.”
Speaking after Saturday’s final loss, Priestman reflected on a surprisingly successful first season back in top-level soccer, saying the campaign had been an overwhelmingly positive experience. She added that the hunger she witnessed from her young squad had been one of the highlights of the season, and that the narrow defeat would only fuel the team’s ambition for the next campaign.
“Losing leaves a little bit on us. And in many ways, it might help us next year to push to another level,” Priestman said. “I’ve got an ambitious club. I’m at my best in these moments; the hunger, the desire to push forward. I think everybody will channel that now. When we turn up in pre-season, we’ll all know what could have been.”