Strengthening clean sport worldwide: the ITA enters its first collaboration agreements with regional anti-doping organisations

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) created the RADO program in 2004 to strengthen the protection of athletes in regions where countries organise their anti-doping efforts within regional conglomerates. There are currently 12 RADOs bringing together 119 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Oceania.

The ITA has now, for the first time, entered collaboration agreements with two RADOs representing Central Asia and Central and South America, RADOCA and PAN RADO in line with its commitment to further enhance clean sport efforts worldwide through close cooperation with national and regional anti-doping organisations. RADOCA is responsible for promoting and coordinating clean sport efforts for its eight member countries in Central Asia: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It was founded by the National Olympic Committees and Government representatives of its member countries in 2006 and is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. PAN RADO, based in Panama, was established in 2015 to lead the anti-doping efforts for its member countries Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Puerto Rico.

The ITA’s partnership with PAN RADO and RADOCA focuses on harmonising testing efforts to ensure an effective allocation of resources and intelligence-led programs at both national and international levels. The collaboration also supports the exchange of information between the ITA and both partner RADOs to the benefit of potential investigations and intelligence-led doping controls in the countries and for the athletes they are responsible for. Finally, the collaboration also extends to identifying mutual efficiencies and opportunities for capacity building in the area of anti-doping education.

“We are very pleased to welcome PAN RADO and RADOCA as partners for clean sport and to collaborate with them more closely in the future,”, says ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen. “Both of these organisations represent groups of countries that are very relevant to the sports we oversee. With these partnerships, we can test more effectively in these regions to the benefit of both the RADOs we partner with and the ITA’s independent programs for International Federations and Major Event Organisers. In addition, information sharing between anti-doping organisations is critical to the success of doping offence investigations.”

Venera Abdulla, Director of the Regional Anti-Doping Organization of Central Asia: “The RADOCA focuses its efforts on building anti-doping capacity and strengthening of the anti-doping programs in RADOCA member countries. But achievement of these main objectives is not possible without developing fruitful partnerships with other Anti-Doping Organizations. RADOCA is proud of signing of a collaboration agreement with ITA which will help the RADO as well the NADOs in the Central Asia region to unite their efforts in protecting the rights of clean athletes. This agreement will contribute to protecting and developing the fundamental value of sport which should be embraced in both on-and-off the field of play in Central Asia Region.”

Manuel Villalobos, Executive Manager of the Pan-American Regional Antidoping Organization: “PAN-RADO continues to strengthen ties between the countries of the region and working hard in the fight against doping. Our goal remains valid as an organization in making member countries feel supported. We feel really pleased and satisfied to create this collaboration agreement with ITA to fulfill this purpose. Our highest priority with our NADO’s is to protect the integrity, respect, inclusion and health of all our athletes and we are sure that together we can achieve it.”

The ITA has already established bilateral collaboration agreements with over 30 National Anti-Doping Organisations and has partnered with 10 RADOs over the past years to deliver advanced training and certification to their workforce, including RADOCA and PAN RADO. The ITA strongly believes that the anti-doping community is able to bring the support of athletes to the next level by working hand-in-hand with all other anti-doping organisations. Consequently, the ITA will continue to welcome to its network any National and Regional Anti-Doping Organisation that wishes to strengthen synergies between national and international level anti-doping programs.