Article content

The World Anti-Doping Agency has backed off from a threat to bar Trump administration officials from this summer’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, which is being co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Article content

The doping watchdog had been considering the measures amid a years-long dispute with the U.S., which has accused the organization of being beholden to Chinese influence and withheld its dues as a result since 2023.

Article content

Article content

That led WADA to consider banning government officials from major events, such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, if they refused to pay their dues, which is reportedly still being considered ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Dispute stems from positive tests

WADA, according to The Associated Press, is planning to revisit the issue after the World Cup and director general Olivier Niggli told the wire service after a meeting Tuesday that governments withholding dues for “political or other voluntary reasons remains a serious topic of concern for all WADA’s stakeholders.

Article content

Article content

“Funding instability has a direct effect on the functioning and development of the World Anti-Doping Program,” Niggli said. “Ultimately, those who are most directly and most negatively impacted are athletes around the world.”

The dispute stems from WADA’s decision not to punish 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for a banned substance in 2021. Chinese officials blamed the positive tests on tainted food, which WADA accepted despite not reporting the incident publicly or to its executive board.

In response, the U.S. government threatened to withhold its annual dues and the Biden administration followed through with that threat in 2024 with an official saying at the time that “governments or individuals who seek to manipulate or evade the rules must be held accountable.”

Article content

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

U.S. seeking compliance audit

Before reconsidering their decision, which has bipartisan support in the U.S., the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy wants WADA to submit to an “independent compliance audit.

“The United States will not be bullied or manipulated into paying dues to WADA until such is achieved,” ONDCP director Sara Carter said, via ESPN.

The Trump administration has continued to withhold the $3.6 million that the U.S. has contributed to WADA on an annual basis, which had accounted for about 6% of the organization’s $56-million yearly budget.

WADA receives half of its funding from the International Olympic Committee and is reportedly in a “strong financial position” after other partners helped bridge the funding gap, according to ESPN.

— With files from The Associated Press.

Article content