FIFA is on an ambitious mission to make sure that for the first time ever, every player who takes part in the World Cup has a drug test and carries a “biological passport.”
World soccer’s governing body wants to impose the passport — already used in cycling and athletics — that will follow a player throughout his career, giving details of blood and urine tests.
Since March, a team of FIFA doctors and nurses have been carrying out random blood and urine tests at internationals and training camps.
Argentina and France were visited last week at their camps to prepare for the tournament, according to media reports. Brazilian star Neymar, Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon and Spain’s Andres Iniesta were among those who gave samples at last year’s Confederations Cup, while players from top clubs like Chelsea and Barcelona were tested during international club competitions over the past 18 months.
Players can expect a tap on the shoulder from the first matches of this year’s World Cup, which starts on Thursday next week.
“We can test anybody, anytime, anywhere, any amount of times,” Jiri Dvorak, FIFA’s chief medical officer, said in a recent interview.
Dvorak said nothing alarming has turned up so far, but FIFA is nonetheless building up a biological passport on all players.
The body has taken at least two test samples from most players, while some have given up to four and Dvorak said teams have so far made the investigators feel welcome.
The tests look for discrepancies in hemoglobins and red cells that could indicate erythropoietin — widely known as EPO — doping or other banned efforts to boost endurance, as well as checking hormone levels and for anabolic steroids.
However, Dvorak said drug testing in Brazil is difficult, given that there is no international-standard laboratory there, after the World Anti-Doping Agency withdrew its accreditation for the country’s only facility in Rio de Janeiro last year.
FIFA will be sending its samples to a laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, which will add US$250,000 to doping clampdown costs. Since blood samples must be analyzed within 36 hours of being drawn, it will be a race against time to get samples from far-flung World Cup cities such as Manaus to Europe.
“It is a challenge,” Dvorak said, but he added that transport from stadiums has already been tested. “There are a few games that are difficult, but the majority of the samples will arrive at the laboratory between 24 and 48 hours.”
The Lausanne laboratory will work 24 hours a day during the tournament, he added.
Soccer has had relatively few declared cases of doping, with cannabis and cocaine making up the majority of drug failures in recent years, according to FIFA.com.
Yet there have been some high-profile cases, such as when Argentina star Diego Maradona was sent home from the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for ephedrine and FIFA executive board member Michel D’Hooghe said the logistical issues mean players suspected of doping this year may be able to continue competing because testing will not be done before his next game.
“Until now, we always had a chance before the next game,” said D’Hooghe said by telephone. “That means if a player fails the test, we suspend him. We will manage to do it before most games, but I’m not sure we will do it in all conditions.”
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