Post categories: football
BBC Sport blog editor | 15:50 PM, Thursday, 9 July 2009
The Football Association appears to have avoided a serious confrontation with Britain's drug testing authorities over their new doping regulations, approved by the FA Council last week.
As previously discussed here, it seems the potential threat of losing £26m of grass roots funding has been enough to sharpen minds at the FA, and that their new regulations, as yet unpublished, will allow for a testing pool which will include at least some England squad level players, as UK Sport had demanded.
I gather there are still discussions taking place, but the main issues are now resolved, and UK Sport aren't about to announce the FA's suspension from the drug testing programme.
The FA's position will be welcomed by the rest of elite sport in Britain, who're obliged to comply with the same World Anti Doping Agency (Wada) Code, in order to receive public funding.
It'll also be well-received in the Montreal offices of Wada, who've been struggling with Fifa over the issue of code compliance, particularly over the composition of testing pools and the acceptance of individual responsibility by those in the pool to provide their whereabouts for an hour a day, 365 days a year.
If a leading association like England is agreeing to the principle, surely that's now set an international standard, which Wada won't be slow to point out to other potential waverers.
BBC Sport blog editor | 15:50 PM, Thursday, 9 July 2009
The Football Association appears to have avoided a serious confrontation with Britain's drug testing authorities over their new doping regulations, approved by the FA Council last week.
As previously discussed here, it seems the potential threat of losing £26m of grass roots funding has been enough to sharpen minds at the FA, and that their new regulations, as yet unpublished, will allow for a testing pool which will include at least some England squad level players, as UK Sport had demanded.
I gather there are still discussions taking place, but the main issues are now resolved, and UK Sport aren't about to announce the FA's suspension from the drug testing programme.
The FA's position will be welcomed by the rest of elite sport in Britain, who're obliged to comply with the same World Anti Doping Agency (Wada) Code, in order to receive public funding.
It'll also be well-received in the Montreal offices of Wada, who've been struggling with Fifa over the issue of code compliance, particularly over the composition of testing pools and the acceptance of individual responsibility by those in the pool to provide their whereabouts for an hour a day, 365 days a year.
If a leading association like England is agreeing to the principle, surely that's now set an international standard, which Wada won't be slow to point out to other potential waverers.