
The fight against doping is about to receive a powerful blowout.
And I'm not talking about actions inside sport or concerning sportsmen all around the world, but about the people that should contribute most to this fight to continue.
Meaning the national Government.
Ever since the World Anti-Doping Agency got under way in early 2000, a deal has been made by the CIO (Committee of International Olympics) with the governments all around the world that everyone should contribute with annual funding, starting 2002. Of course, not everyone with the same amount of money, but still, they would have to be implicated. And, in the beginning, everything went well. But not later than 2004, the WADA were practically begging for money and asking for help from the politicians.
"I'm very disappointed, since our fight against doping requests a lot of funding, that we cannot overcome by ourselves. The politicians have not stick with their promise. It was a partnership. When one of the partners does not do what it should, the fight will fail", said CIO boss, Jacques Ragge, in an interview for sports channel Eurosport. He warned that, if things won't suffer immediate changes, the 2012 Olympics will not benefit from WADA services.
It is believed that the annual costs for fighting against doping is somewhere around 20 million Euros. Rogge gave an ultimatum to the Government representatives: "It is probably a consequence of bureaucratic habits or fatigue. But I make a personal plea to governments, because the problem surpasses that of a simple athlete who cheats. We see them abusing stimulants and anabolic substances. It is bigger than a sporting problem. It is a problem of society, and in that, governments have a great responsibility to do something about it".