Last week, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Executive Committee (ExCo) and Foundation Board (Board) met in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where members discussed and took decisions on several matters that are key to strengthening the global anti-doping system.  

WADA published a media release following the ExCo meeting, which unanimously approved recommendations of the Working Group that was set up by the ExCo in September to implement the observations made by Independent Prosecutor Eric Cottier and World Aquatics concerning WADA’s handling of the no-fault contamination cases of Chinese swimmers in 2021.

2025-2029 Strategic Plan

The Board approved WADA’s latest Strategic Plan (2025-2029) under the theme ‘Going further together’, following a 16-month stakeholder consultation process to ensure the development of a common understanding of the progress made to date and decide which priorities to target for the next five years. The Plan sets a clear direction for the Agency so it can deliver on its primary role of developing, harmonizing, and coordinating anti-doping rules and policies across all sports and countries. It is an evolution of the 2020-2024 version that builds on recent achievements while also recognizing the challenges faced since 2020.

Through the Plan, which will be published in January 2025, WADA will: 

• Lead – ensuring harmonized standards that elevate the global anti-doping system 

• Grow Impact – maximizing the effect of clean sport programs

• Be athlete-centered – putting athletes at the heart of everything it does 

• Collaborate – engaging and uniting stakeholders to protect clean sport 

• Perform – striving for greater efficiency of the global anti-doping system and internal processes 

  Concretely, over the next five years, WADA will focus on: 

• Advancing science and innovation together with its network of partners and experts to stay ahead of the evolving landscape of performance-enhancing substances and methods; 

• Strengthening collaboration with stakeholders across sport, government, and law enforcement to create a global network of clean sport; 

• Adopting a prevention mindset by enhancing values-based education programs to empower athletes, coaches, and support personnel with the knowledge they need to stay clean; 

• Supporting National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs), particularly in developing countries, to ensure that the fight against doping in sport is truly global; 

• Better leveraging data and strategically developing its digital assets, which will help deliver insights to improve the effectiveness of the global anti-doping system; and 

• Working closely with its Athlete Council in promoting the voices of athletes on anti-doping issues. 

The full press release you can find here.