New Year Message to Stakeholders from WADA President and Director General

Dear Colleagues,

As we embark on the New Year, we would like to thank you all -- our partners in Clean Sport -- for your support and dedication in 2021; and, to wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2022.

There is no question -- 2020 and 2021 were challenging for the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, as we all know, it is not behind us yet.  We are very grateful to Anti-Doping Organizations and anti-doping laboratories the world over for their collaboration and response as they continue to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on anti-doping – always with a priority placed on the health and safety of athletes and others.

Aside from COVID-19, WADA’s mission in leading a collaborative movement for doping-free sport has been overshadowed in recent years by the Russian Doping Crisis that erupted in December 2014; and a lot of energy and resources have been dedicated to WADA’s Governance Reform that was initiated in November 2016.

In and amongst these two very important issues, we at WADA have collaborated with all of you in 2021 on key matters that have notably resulted in:

• Strengthening the Global Anti-Doping Program via the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code and its eight related International Standards, and, the monitoring of compliance with them;
• Actioning our six priorities within the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, which was published in July 2020;
• Strengthening our engagement with athletes, who are at the very center of our mission and Strategic Plan by designating it one of our five impact areas within our new organizational model that took effect on 1 July 2021;
• Further building anti-doping education by providing access to education and information programs for athletes and their support personnel worldwide; and providing support, guidance and tools for athletes and stakeholders to help them create and implement education programs;
• Fortifying Intelligence and Investigations capabilities; and
• Further advancing anti-doping science by developing and constantly improving tests to detect prohibited substances and methods and developing innovative approaches; such as, dried blood spot (DBS) analysis and artificial intelligence for application in anti-doping.

These are but a few of the areas that we are focused on and will continue to develop together.

As it relates to WADA’s governance, we are very pleased with the reforms that the Agency’s Foundation Board approved during its November 2021 meeting. These reforms will have far-reaching and meaningful impact on how the Agency is governed, with more independent voices around the table and increased representation for athletes and National Anti-Doping Organizations. They are part of WADA’s continuous process of improvement.

It is encouraging that our unique 50/50 partnership between the Sport Movement and Governments of the world -- with their complementary jurisdictions, expertise and powers -- was upheld. The Sport Movement has an inherent interest in protecting sport and a responsibility to maintain a level playing field and protect the integrity of sport. Governments provide clout in areas where sport cannot; including, by introducing legislation that prevents the trafficking and distribution of banned substances to athletes; and, by addressing performance enhancing drug abuse beyond elite sport and within wider society. Cooperation between these partners and all partners in the anti-doping ecosystem has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in the development of WADA and of the global anti-doping system.

We are happy that, for the first time in a long time, we should have more opportunity to focus on our core anti-doping activities.  In 2022, we are particularly committed to:

• further engaging and empowering athletes in developing Clean Sport;
• continuing to build anti-doping capacity worldwide;
• securing the additional funding that is required to further enable doping-free sport; and
• more generally, tirelessly pursue our purpose on all fronts to provide athletes with an environment where they can fairly achieve their dreams.

On behalf of the whole WADA Team, we wish to thank athletes and all other contributors to doping-free sport worldwide. We are lucky and grateful to benefit from all this experience, expertise and commitment. 

Let’s make sure that 2022 is a year where we can all progress further together and raise the game for athletes worldwide.

Thank you and best regards,

 
Witold Bańka                                                               Olivier Niggli
President                                                                     Director General