Former Canadian women’s national team head coach is explaining her move to New Zealand.

Bev Priestman, who accepted a coaching position with Wellington Phoenix FC on Tuesday, told reporters in New Zealand that she no longer felt safe in Canada following her suspension relating to spying at the Paris Olympics.

“Obviously it was an absolute media frenzy. You’ve got people knocking at your door and everything, and I’ve got a little boy,” Priestman continued. “Without going into too much detail, it was very difficult. We knew we had to get out of that country.”

Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi were all handed one-year suspensions by FIFA in the wake of New Zealand’s Olympic Committee filing a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit, alleging drones were flown over a pair of pre-tournament practice sessions. All three are no longer with Canada Soccer.

Priestman, who was in Canada’s coaching ranks for 11 years, said she considers her ban to be a learning experience, per Strang.

“There’s certain values that I hold and unfortunately, you know, things around me have clouded my judgement,” Priestman said. “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.”

Priestman signed a two-year commitment with the club. The 39-year-old has ties to the Wellington club through her wife Emma Humphries, a former New Zealand international who is the club’s academy director. Priestman also headed up coach development in Wellington some 16 years ago.

— With files from Canadian Press