Today, IOC President Thomas Bach held a video call with three-time Olympian Peng Shuai from China. He was joined by the Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Emma Terho, and IOC Member in China Li Lingwei, who has known Peng Shuai for many years from her time in the Chinese Tennis Federation.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed Geoff Allardice has been appointed as the organisation’s permanent CEO after more than eight months in the role on an interim basis.
Allardice, a former first-class cricketer, was the ICC General Manager, Cricket for eight years having previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia.
The World Athletics Doping Review Board has agreed that the application of one Russian athlete has met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international U20 competition as a neutral athlete in 2021 under Eligibility Rule 3.2 while the Russian national federation (RusAF) remains suspended.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is proud to announce the publication today of a new book, “Emerging Drugs in Sport”, that was co-edited by WADA’s Senior Director of Science and Medicine, Dr. Olivier Rabin.
The book is the first of its kind on the use of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS)* in sports and features contributions by multidisciplinary leading experts in the field. Co-edited in collaboration with Professor Ornella Corazza, Associate Professor in Substance Addiction and Behaviours at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and a leading scholar in the field of Novel Psychoactive Substances, the book provides the latest findings on anti-doping including anti-doping techniques, regulation, policy and market structure of NPS used in sports.
The resource was designed by the ITA to support all National Olympic Committees taking part in the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 with the Anti-Doping Education of their athletes and athlete support personnel ahead of the games.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Advisory Council (AAC) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) are honored to have been invited to the first-ever ONDCP anti-doping forum including Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the USOPC, AAC, USADA, and U.S. corporate sponsors held on Friday, November 12, 2021.
The WNBA Board of Governors approved changes to the league’s playoff format and postseason seeding, effective with the 2022 season, the WNBA announced today. The reconfigured postseason structure will include three rounds of series-play using a best-of 3-5-5 format.
Beginning with the WNBA’s 26th season, the eight teams with the highest winning percentages over a 36-game schedule regardless of conference will qualify for the playoffs and be seeded based on their record. All eight playoff teams will participate in first-round, bracket-style play consisting of four best-of-three series.
Reading Football Club has been deducted six points from this season’s (2021/22) points tally, with a further six points suspended until the end of the 2022/23 Season, after admitting to breaches of the EFL’s Profitability and Sustainability rules (P&S).
It follows a review of the financial submission from the Club for the four-year period 2017/18 to 2020/21 where it was determined the Club had recorded a loss of £57.8m, £18.8m in excess of the £39.0m Upper Loss Threshold.
ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE INDEPENDENT MISCONDUCT COMMITTEE
An independent misconduct committee has found that behaviour displayed by SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus towards match officials during this year’s test series between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions constituted misconduct.
The committee was chaired by Christopher Quinlan QC, together with Nigel Hampton QC and Judge Mike Mika (both New Zealand).
Manama: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa met with the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) President Karma Tsering Sherpa, with the AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John also in attendance.
Shaikh Salman welcomed the ANFA President to Bahrain and emphasised the importance of continuous engagement with the Asian football family and discussed the possible ways to further develop the game, as well as to strengthen the spirit of collaboration between the AFC and its Member Associations (MAs).
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce its Independent Observer (IO) program teams for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, which will take place from 4-20 February and from 4-13 March 2022, respectively.
WADA’s IO program, which has been running since the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and has included more than 50 major events during that time, is an important element of WADA’s compliance monitoring of Major Event Organizations. The IO teams provide an independent review of all aspects of the anti-doping programs as delivered at major events, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has suspended Iranian Para athletics athlete Nikoeimajd Mehran for a period of four years for committing an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV).
The athlete was found to have committed an ADRV pursuant to IPC Anti-Doping Code Article 2.2 of the IF Rules: Use or Attempted Use by an Athlete of a Prohibited Substance or a Prohibited Method.
An application for a change of nationality was accepted today by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) as it held a hybrid meeting from Lausanne, which concluded a series of commission meetings in the course of the week.
Port Vale have agreed a pioneering partnership with psychological and technology resources company AIM-FOR which will offer free mental health support to players, club staff and supporters.
The EFL’s Community Club of the Year is investing in Mental Health Safety Net – a bespoke suite of digital tools which will enable club employees and supporters to identify issues which may be affecting them and access a raft of information support services.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has launched a new education course on its Anti-Doping Education and Learning platform (ADEL), specifically designed for athletes (including their guides) and coaches aiming to attend the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.
From 27-29 September 2021, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Strategic Testing Expert Advisory Group held three virtual meetings focused on the following topics:
An overview of new and existing areas of testing, including the implementation of Dried Blood Spot (DBS) and sample collection best practices for transgender athletes;
A review of the implementation of, and compliance with, the Technical Document for Sports Specific Analysis (TDSSA), including the implementation of the haematological module of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP); and
The progress of a feasibility study on alternative sample collection programs.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is delighted to announce the appointment of its first Ethics Officer and a further four members to its Ethics Commission.
The CGF Ethics Commission is a completely independent body tasked with maintaining the highest standards of probity throughout the Commonwealth Sport Movement.
The first edition, published in 2007 by FIFA, was a tool to supplement the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), which were first adopted in 2001 following cooperation and negotiations between FIFA and the European Commission.
The commentary on the RSTP is a crucial document which will support member associations, clubs, players, leagues and football legal experts in ensuring that the RSTP is applied consistently across the global football community.
Statement by Steve Simon, WTA Chairman & CEO on the recent video posted by China state-run media of Peng Shuai:
“I am glad to see the videos released by China state-run media that appear to show Peng Shuai at a restaurant in Beijing. While it is positive to see her, it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference. This video alone is insufficient. As I have stated from the beginning, I remain concerned about Peng Shuai’s health and safety and that the allegation of sexual assault is being censored and swept under the rug. I have been clear about what needs to happen and our relationship with China is at a crossroads.”
Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has been fined 15 per cent of his match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second T20I against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Saturday
This weekend sees the launch of Play Safe – an ongoing national FA-led campaign to ensure everyone understands how to play their part in safeguarding children throughout football.
Play Safe is being run in partnership with the NSPCC and has the full backing of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays FA Women’s Super League and the FA Women’s Championship. It’s also supported and being run across every other level of the game.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) is set to manage yet another independent and expert-led anti-doping program for a major event, after completing its missions for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 and the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022. The International World Games Association (IWGA) has entered a collaboration with the ITA for its next major event, The World Games 2022, to be held in July in Birmingham, Alabama (USA).
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston has said that an independent regulator may be created for cricket following the ongoing racism scandal.
Following Azeem Rafiq’s testimony at a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee where he detailed the racism that he suffered throughout his cricketing career Huddleston said he found it “alarming” and “harrowing”.
The next edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup is set to mark a landmark in the history of the competition which started 56 years ago, as it will be held in February 2022 in Cairo, Egypt, taking place in an African country for the first time.
The event is poised to further enhance its unique transatlantic status by also becoming the first club competition in basketball history to feature contenders that will be representing four different regional leagues.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has extended the analytical testing restriction (ATR) imposed on the Romanian Doping Control Laboratory in Bucharest (Bucharest Laboratory). The ATR, related to the Gas Chromatography / Combustion / Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) analytical method, was originally imposed in 1 May 2021 for a period of up to six months.
Following presentations from RusAF Acting President Irina Privalova and Chair of the Russia Taskforce, Rune Anderson, the World Athletics Congress has today approved the World Athletics Council’s recommendation that the Russian Federation continues to be suspended while the Council oversees completion of the Russian reinstatement plan.
Andersen presented the Taskforce’s latest report before the Congress vote. All other documents and decisions will be published at the conclusion of the Congress tomorrow.
Last year, the ECA’s General Counsel decided to have a rethink at what sort of legal services ECA should be delivering to its members. The latest stage of that process is the introduction of the ECA Legal Journal.
The first issue is available to read now and, going forwards, will be published on a bi-annual basis.
As ECA CEO Charlie Marshall explains in his introduction to this new publication, “Many of you will remember the ECA Legal Bulletin, our annual publication designed to provide you with useful and practical information regarding football law matters.
World Athletics and the European Broadcasting Union are delighted to announce that they have extended and enhanced their long-running media rights partnership for all the events in the top-tier World Athletics Series.
An Amnesty International report has claimed that migrant workers are still being trapped and exploited in Qatar as they work on new stadiums for next year’s FIFA World Cup.
New Brain Health Initiative reflects commitment to educate and support current and former elite players who might be concerned about their wellbeing and brain health
Global initiative includes new videos featuring leading independent experts outlining 12 modifiable risk factors for dementia and how rugby can play a positive role in reducing many of these
Campaign launched at World Rugby Medical Commission Conference as part of World Rugby’s ongoing engagement with member unions, local healthcare authorities and brain health experts to advance player welfare across the rugby family
The EFL has today confirmed that Derby County Football Club has received a nine-point sporting sanction with a further three points suspended after admitting to breaches of the League’s Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) rules.
This matter has been determined under the terms of an ‘Agreed Decision’ reached between the League and the Club and was formally ratified by an Independent Disciplinary Commission Chair as per the requirements of EFL Regulations.
Sport Integrity Australia acknowledges the decision of the Australian Weightlifting Federation to sanction athlete Nathan Mortensen for the presence of prohibited substances and their metabolites and the use and possession of prohibited substances.
Mr Mortensen returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) from an out-of-competition doping control test on 10 September 2020.
We have today launched a version of the Football Leadership Diversity Code tailored for the National League System, Women’s pyramid and grassroots football, aiming to tackle inequality and improve representation of diverse groups across senior leadership positions, wider team operations and coaching roles.
The Football Leadership Diversity Code has been developed in collaboration with club leaders, community football representatives, County FA chief executives and others across the game to ensure English football at all levels better represents our modern and diverse society.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced an extension to its support agreement with The Adecco Group, the world’s leading talent solutions company, to help strengthen its support for athletes through Athlete365 Career+.
The European Parliament’s (EP) Committee on Culture and Education has published a report recalling “the need to regulate the activities of agents” and acknowledging the importance of the “recent reforms in the football transfer market”.
Six members of UIPM’s Athletes Committee, Coaches Committee and Technical Committee met today to begin the consultation process announced by the UIPM Executive Board (EB) on November 4.
Current and incoming members of the three committees had preliminary discussions about the consultation process and were briefed by UIPM President Dr Klaus Schormann as well as UIPM Vice-President Joel Bouzou and Secretary General Shiny Fang.
The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) announced today that Phillipe Marcil, a powerlifting athlete, received a two-year sanction for an anti-doping rule violation. The athlete’s urine sample, collected during in-competition doping control on August 21, 2021, revealed the presence of tamoxifen, a prohibited hormone and metabolic modulator.
“We are honored to be involved at this stage to help draft and ultimately finalize gold-standard rules on anti-doping and medication control for the equine industry. We are excited with where this process is headed and with proposed rules being published for two additional rounds of public feedback.”
Today at a COP26 special event, Extreme E alongside Count Us In, the Drive Electric Campaign, Route Zero, and Bloomberg Green has supported the UN High Level Climate Action Champions, Nigel Topping and Gonzalo Muñoz, in their presentation of the Count Us In Citizens’ Declaration: an open call on world leaders - signed by more than 35 key policy, industry and civil society actors - to adopt comprehensive policy measures to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions road transport.
