Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigerian athletes could be at the wrong end of administrative lapses and could miss the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as the country and Venezuela have been referred to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for alleged failure of their anti-doping agencies to comply with WADA rules, the World Anti-Doping Agency has revealed.
WADA stated in an official statement that it filed “two separate requests for arbitration with the Court of Arbitration for Sport” in the two cases last week.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe two national agencies were sanctioned in November 2023 for failing to address what the Montreal-based doping watchdog called a number of “critical requirements” in their anti-doping programmes.
Consequently, they have lost their rights within the organisation and were banned from hosting major sporting events.
Their flags were also banned from being displayed at major competitions, including the Olympic Games, until they met WADA’s requirements.
The allegations against the countries and the proposed sanctions have been contested by both national agencies.
The sanctions against them are effectively suspended pending the outcome of the Court of Arbitration.
Updates on the arbitration decisions and the potential impact on Nigeria and Venezuela are expected later this year, possibly before the Olympics that holds in Paris 26 July and 11 August.
Compliance with the anti-doping rules is essential for clean international sport, WADA stressed. In the ongoing cases against Nigeria and Venezuela, WADA will now await the decisions of CAS.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
