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12 June 2024
The International Testing Agency (ITA) and the AFLD, the French national antidoping organisation, are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoU) that will promote collaboration and facilitate information sharing in the lead-up to and during the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Under this new MoU, the ITA will be able to count on the full support of the AFLD, public prosecutors, gendarmerie units, police forces and customs authorities for Paris 2024 through a concerted effort of all involved entities to pool their resources, skills and powers with those of the ITA in the fight against doping,
The ITA is independently managing and monitoring anti-doping operations in the run-up to and during the Games, in close cooperation with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and with the full support of the AFLD. To further ensure the implementation of an effective and robust anti-doping program and the sharing of relevant information on potential doping violations, the ITA has now reinforced its existing framework of cooperation with the relevant French governmental agencies via this dedicated MoU. This enhanced partnership will establish a robust investigative framework and create link between the ITA and the French public authorities, further strengthening the ability to detect and deter doping violations.
In order to facilitate the exchange of information related to possible anti-doping violations, the ITA and the AFLD have signed the MoU recognising the importance of close cooperation in the area of intelligence and investigations. The AFLD, in turn, as the organisation installed by the French government to tackle doping in France, has standing collaboration agreements with the relevant French authorities operative in various fields relevant to anti-doping activities. In collaboration with the ITA, the AFLD will be able to enforce its investigative powers for anti-doping investigations. Thus, the AFLD’s investigators will be the point of contact with the administrative and judicial authorities to support the ITA’s action during the Games.
All parties involved are fully committed to ensuring that the Games are clean, and that all available measures can be taken swiftly should the use or trafficking of banned substances or methods be discovered in the context of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in line with the IOC Anti-Doping Rules, the World Anti-Doping Code and the applicable French legislation.
“This agreement underlines the commitment of all partners involved to fair Olympic Games where doping has no place,” says Dr Valérie Fourneyron, Chair of the ITA Foundation Board. “I am very pleased that the French authorities via the AFLD have reached this agreement with the ITA. It will ensure adequate communication channels and efficient exchange of information should there be any suspicion of doping activities regarding Paris 2024.”
Béatrice Bourgeois, the president of the AFLD, points out, “The collaboration between anti-doping organisations in view of the Olympic Games is a key success factor of the anti-doping program. The strengthening of the resources and powers of the AFLD in the area of investigations since 2021 are put at the service of clean sport on the occasion of the Paris Games. In this fight against doping, the AFLD benefits from the support of its partners in law enforcement and judicial authorities”. All parties concerned by the MoU are resolutely committed to adopting a zero-tolerance approach against doping and will do everything in their respective powers to protect the health of all Olympians and the integrity and fairness of the Games.
The ITA urges anyone who has suspicions of any kind related to doping, who has seen, heard or experienced anything that might be in violation of the World Anti-Doping Code, to share it confidentially on its reporting platform REVEAL.
