FIFA published its Anti-Doping Report 2021/2022 today, which covers FIFA’s efforts in the area from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2022. This year’s edition reflects the full reinstation of FIFA’s testing efforts during all its competitions following the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest portion of tests were conducted in connection with the FIFA World Cup™. For the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, every participating player was tested in unannounced controls before the competition and further systematic tests were performed during the competition, both with post-match controls and on non-matchdays. A total of 2,921 doping control tests were conducted in 11 different FIFA competitions. More than 100 member associations were represented by at least one of their national teams in the competitions taking place during the reporting period. Anti-doping is one of FIFA’s central pillars to ensure that the game of football remains about sporting excellence, passion and team spirit.

Out of the 5,596 samples collected, six of them resulted in an adverse analytical finding. In four out of the six cases of adverse analytical findings, the outcome led to a suspension. In one case the detected substance was administrated by an authorized route and not prohibited, and one case is pending. In addition, FIFA established a new anti-doping e-learning platform, which features three learning modules for three distinct audiences: youth players, professional players and player support personnel. Those courses can be accessed freely here and feature distinct content with an introduction on the anti-doping system and special focus on the player’s strict liability principle.