ZURICH, (Reuters) – There were no positive doping tests at this summer’s Confederations Cup in Russia, global soccer body FIFA said yesterday.
FIFA said that 379 tests were carried out on players at the eight-team tournament, which finished at the start of this month. The event acts as a dress rehearsal for next year’s World Cup in the same country.
“All participating players were tested through blood and urine in unannounced controls and, additionally, two players per team were tested by FIFA anti-doping officers after each of the competition’s 16 matches,” said FIFA in a statement.
FIFA added that the samples were analysed at laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), mostly at the one in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The competition featured Germany, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Cameroon, Mexico, Portugal and Russia.
FIFA has said it is still investigating allegations that footballers were among the Russian athletes who were involved in, or benefited from, an elaborate state-sponsored doping scheme.
A report by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren published last year said more than 1,000 Russian athletes in Olympic and Paralympic sport were part of the institutional conspiracy to conceal positive doping tests.
The report, commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), said that soccer was among more than 30 sports involved.
