Anti-doping passport will take time: Blatter

October 29, 2009

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Thursday that the introduction of a biological passport to stamp out doping in football would take time.

Speaking after a meeting between world football’s governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Blatter said that discussions had been “positive”.

“The meeting has developed in a positive sense, we are working together fighting againt doping and trying to put together all our assets,” said Blatter.

“Fighting doping is a prerogative and something very special for FIFA and we will go on on that. There is (doping) but not so much (in football).”

A biological passport is designed to keep permanent record of an athlete’s blood and urine parameters to detect any suspicious changes, instead of relying on random tests alone.

FIFA and WADA have not always seen eye to eye on anti-doping measures.

Blatter refused to force footballers to be available 365 days a year for out-of-competition testing, a measure introduced this year for all elite athletes affiliated to WADA.

FIFA’s chief medical officier Jiri Dvorak insisted that the introduction of a biological passport was only at the project stage at the moment.

“It’s a work in progress, it’s something which is a long term project,” Dvorak said.

“33,000 procedures are done every year around the world, the incidence of positive cases is 0.3 percent on social drugs like marihuana and cocaine, and the incidence of anabolic steroids is 0.03percent, it’s very low but still we have to do the controls.”

ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP)

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Confederations Cup players were drug free: FIFA

July 8, 2009

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Drug tests conducted on teams who participated in the Confederations Cup, a curtain-raiser for next year’s World Cup came out negative, said football’s world governing body FIFA in a statement on Tuesday.

“A total of 131 urine and blood tests were conducted as part of the testing programme,” said the statement.

It said FIFA doping control officers visited all eight participating teams and performed unannounced out of competition tests two months before the competition.

Eight players per team were drawn, which meant that a total of 64 players were tested out of competition .

FIFA Medical officer, Professor Jiri Dvorak said:”Some players were surprised when we woke them up at 7am, but the cooperation of all teams was excellent.”

During the tournament held from June 14 to June 28, two players a team were randomly selected for doping control at all 16 matches.

“All the usual prohibited substances and methods were searched for in the urine and blood tests, including stimulants, anabolic steroids, diuretics and erythropoietin,” Fifa said.

FIFA was “satisfied” with the teams’ co-operation and the smooth running of the analyses at the South African Doping Control Laboratory in Bloemfontein.

“The results of the testing programme show that high performances are possible in top-level football without the use of prohibited substances or methods.”

Since 1994 about 6,483 doping tests have been performed in FIFA final competitions and only three players have tested positive for a prohibited substance doping tests, said the statement.

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No positive doping tests at Confederations Cup

July 8, 2009

No players were found positive for using forbidden substances ahead of and during the Confederations Cup in South Africa last month. This was announced by world governing body FIFA.

In a statement, FIFA state that eight players of each team (64 in total) were selected for out-of-competition controls. In order to perform these tests, all teams had to inform FIFA of their players’ whereabouts during the two months prior to the start of the tournament.

Chief Medical Officer Prof. Jiri Dvorak said that “some players were surprised when we woke them up at 7am, but the cooperation of all teams was excellent.

During the actual competition, two players per team were randomly selected to be tested following games. Here too, no players delivered suspicious samples.

Since 1994, only three of 6,483 doping tests performed in FIFA final competitions proved positive.

By: Jonathan Roorda

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FIFA defies WADA over anti-doping tests

March 20, 2009

GENEVA (AFP) – World football’s governing body FIFA on Friday defied the World Anti-Doping Agency’s key demands for out-of-competition drugs testing by insisting on special treatment for footballers.

FIFA maintained after an executive committee meeting that it wanted exceptions for football and other team sports, including exemptions from testing for one day per week and during holiday periods.

It also advocated limits on the ‘whereabouts’ rule that allows anti-doping authorities to locate athletes daily for testing, insisting in a statement that only the location of a team, and not of individual players, should be provided.

WADA director general David Howman and president John Fahey last month ruled out immediate changes to out-of-competition drugs testing for athletes, underlining that the rules were new and softer than those used before.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter revealed that football’s governing body was sending a new letter "today" to WADA on the issue.

"We’re surprised that through certain statements there won’t be exceptions whatever the sport. The team sports are in total agreement," he added.

"It’s not a question of not fighting doping, but one should not have a witchhunt."

Since the beginning of January, elite athletes are required to give notice of their location on a chosen one-hour period each day, seven days a week, under the world anti-doping code.

European football chief Michel Platini has criticised the ‘whereabouts’ rule and suggested a 20-day ‘holiday’ for football players during their off-season break.

But during a seminar in Lausanne on February 24, Fahey said that amounted to a "part-time" approach that could jeopardise the integrity of the anti-doping test process.

In a letter to Howman, FIFA’s chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak said Team Sports Federations and the International Rugby Board had agreed at a meeting in December that they could not put the WADA Code for 2009 into operation from the very beginning.

"It is the general feeling that we have to adapt step by step," he added in the letter dated February 16, released by FIFA.

Copies were also sent to international basket ball (FIBA), volleyball (FIVB), baseball (IBAF) and ice hockey (IIHF) federations, as well as the International Olympic Committee.

Written by: AFP