Battle of the Acronyms: UEFA & FIFA Stand Up To WADA
And the price may be quite high.
Since WADA implemented its ‘whereabouts’ campaign – it “requires athletes in all sports to give drug-testers three months’ notice of their whereabouts for one hour each day of the year” – the walls have been shaking with fury. It’s a pretty unapologetic intrusion into the lives of athletes and has been decried as such from all corners – some, many in Belgium, have even begun legal proceedings against the WADA’s conspiracy to take over the world. UEFA & FIFA have agreed and will not comply, but the cost may come in the form of Olympic football.
The gist of the two footy associations’ unhappiness looks something like this:
FIFA and UEFA say there are “fundamental differences” between an individual athlete training alone and one who spends six days a week training or playing with a team and is “thus easy to locate.”
The bodies also called for players to get a special exemption during their offseason, which typically runs from mid-May through the end of June. They said they “do not accept that controls be undertaken during the short holiday period of players, in order to respect their private life.”
How would you like to be on vacation and have to give your ‘whereabouts’ three months in advance? Nice, huh?
And it’s not as though football is a massive violator in this area, either. From 2004-08 an annual average of 25,000 players were pee tested. An average of 10 were found guilty of unpure training methods. Or 0.04%. This ain’t the Tour de France.
The problem comes, of course, in tournaments where WADA wields its overwhelming power, such as the Olympics. If a sport doesn’t comply with the standards WADA has set forth via the IOC, it’s bye bye Olympic participation.
“It’s in the IOC charter that any non-compliant federation can be removed from the Olympic program,” he said before adding: “If you’re going to be way out in left field you’re going to be pretty lonely.”
But would this necessarily be such a bad thing? It’s already been discussed before and Olympic football really doesn’t make a great deal of sense in the grand scheme. FIFA already has a U-20 World Cup, which is essentially what they’re proposing the Olympics become. Or, if they’d like, FIFA could just create a U-23 World Cup (plus lifelines), which is precisely what the Olympics are now. One which doesn’t take place during the beginning of European domestic seasons. And really, wouldn’t putting to bed one of the largest issues permeating club v country do wonders for football relationships and maybe even extend some lives?
From a certain perspective, one could actually think of this as something of a “two birds, one stone” situation. Then again, Sepp Blatter is involved, which means there’s only one possible outcome: disaster.
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By alessio | March 25th, 2009 at 2:52 pm 
WADA already has responded:
WADA Statement about FIFA and UEFA Declaration on Whereabouts
Date: March 24, 2009
WADA was surprised and concerned to read the statement issued on March 24 by the world and European football governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, in relation to universally harmonized whereabouts requirements that took effect on January 1, 2009.
Under the 2009 International Standard for Testing, which was unanimously approved in May 2008 by WADA’s Executive Committee (including representatives of International Sports Federations), the limited number of top elite athletes included in an International Federation or National Anti-Doping Organization registered testing pool must indicate one hour a day during which they can be tested at a specified location. The new Standard also provides team sports with the opportunity of submitting the whereabouts of their relevant athletes on a collective basis as part of team activities. This specific point was the result of requests from and extensive consultation with team sports, including FIFA, and was specifically made to accommodate team sports.
Under the Standard, the one-hour time-slot indicated by the athlete or his/her team can include any location, including training grounds. But the opportunity for anti-doping organizations to test athletes is not limited to the chosen one-hour time-slot and location.
“One of the key principles of efficient doping control is the surprise effect and the possibility to test an athlete without advance notice on a 365 day basis,” said WADA’s President John Fahey. “Alleging, as FIFA and UEFA do, that testing should only take place at training grounds and not during holiday periods, ignores the reality of doping in sport. Experience has demonstrated that athletes who cheat seize every opportunity to do so and dope when they believe they won’t be tested. Some substances and methods disappear quickly from the body while keeping their performance-enhancing effects. Anti-doping organizations must therefore be able to test athletes at all times in an intelligent fashion. WADA stakeholders have recognized this reality, and the feedback we have received from the overwhelming majority of other sports, but also from athletes and all those who support doping-free sport, strongly contradicts FIFA’s and UEFA’s stance.”
http://www.wada-ama.org/en/newsarticle.ch2?articleId=3115780
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By Shazback | March 25th, 2009 at 3:36 pm 3 months? If that’s not excessive, I’d be hard pressed to find something that is. I’m not a pro athlete, but I can’t predict where I’ll be in 3 months for one hour, unless it’s “In bed at home between 2 AM and 3 AM”. And even then, god forbid I choose go travel one weekend.
I find that 2 or 3 weeks is ample notice, given footballers have to follow their club and don’t have the freedom to train anywhere on the planet individual athletes do. Footballers can’t even predict how they’ll be getting on in various competitions three months in advance. If they do, I’d love to see who has planned their hotel in Rome for May 22-24 already.
By Ian | March 25th, 2009 at 4:40 pm Ridiculous. No one should have to register with WADA 3 months early in order to take a trip. I’m not always on FIFA’s side, but they’re in the right here.
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