A staff member from the Canadian women's football team has been detained by French authorities for flying a drone over a New Zealand training session ahead of their match at the Paris Olympics.

The Canadian Olympic Committee said it was "shocked and disappointed" by the incident on Tuesday in Saint-Etienne and was investigating.

"We offer our heartfelt apologies to New Zealand Football, to all the players affected and to the New Zealand Olympic Committee," it said in a statement Wednesday.

Olympic champions Canada face New Zealand on Thursday in the opening game of their gold-medal defence.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee said team support members reported the incident to police, with the drone operator detained.

"The NZOC has formally lodged the incident with the IOC integrity unit and has asked Canada for a full review," it added.

Canada said the person was a non-accredited member of Canada Soccer and it was liaising with the International Olympic Committee and football governing body FIFA on what steps to take next.