The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is considering introducing a rule that could restrict US government officials’ access to major competitions amid the US’s huge unpaid debt to the agency.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is considering a proposed regulation that could ban US President Donald Trump and other US government officials from participating in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the Associated Press reports on Saturday, March 14.
The proposal is due to be discussed next week and sets out a set of sanctions for countries that fail to pay their contributions to WADA by January 31, 2027, including “exclusion of government representatives from participating in major competitions such as the World Championships and the Olympic and Paralympic Games”, according to a report cited by AP.
Over $7 million in debt
The initiative comes amid tensions between the US and WADA, with Washington refusing to pay its annual dues to the anti-doping agency. The U.S. is estimated to owe about $3.7 million for 2025 and $3.6 million for 2024. The freeze on the U.S. contribution dates back to 2023 and is related to the scandal in which 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned substances before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but were still allowed to compete.
WADA branded the AP article “misleading”, stressing that the suggestion that the measure could affect the FIFA World Cup is false, stating that “the rules do not apply retroactively, so the FIFA World Cup, the Los Angeles Games and the Salt Lake City Games will not be affected”.
Controversies and reactions
Discussions of governments unilaterally suspending WADA funding began as early as 2020 and do not specifically target the US, explained agency spokesman James Fitzgerald. The purpose of the proposal is to “better protect WADA’s funding so the agency can support its global movement for doping-free sport”he specified.
Rahul Gupta, Carter’s successor at the ONDCP and former WADA executive committee member, criticized the idea.
“I’ve never heard of a Swiss foundation with a $50 million budget that can enforce a rule to, say, prevent the president of the United States from attending somewhere. And the next question you have to answer is: How are you going to enforce it? Are they going to post a red notice from Interpol? It’s ridiculous. It’s clear they haven’t thought this through.” he expressed his indignation.
After the article was published, WADA issued a statement stressing that the news was “completely misleading” and reiterated Fitzgerald’s statement that if the proposal were to be adopted, “the rules do not apply retroactively, so the FIFA World Cup, the Los Angeles and Salt Lake City Games (in 2034) would not be affected.”
The next meeting of the Foundation Board, which will make the final decision, is scheduled for November. However, WADA said last month that the proposal could also be reviewed by circular or in an extraordinary meeting, if necessary, so as not to delay implementation.
