WADA’s Executive Committee takes several important decisions during first meeting of 2026

Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA’s) Executive Committee held its first meeting of the year virtually, during which members received a range of updates and took decisions aimed at strengthening the global anti-doping system – the main ones being summarized below.   

The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan on the eve of WADA’s 2026 Regional Symposium for Europe. The Symposium was officially postponed on 9 March 2026 due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

WADA President, Witold Bańka, said: “Despite the fact that we had to hold the meeting virtually, it was nice to see the high level of positive engagement from the ExCo members, and I thank them for their excellent discussions. In particular, the commitment of the ExCo to address issues related to contamination, the experience of athletes within the anti-doping system and how WADA is funded is very encouraging and should reassure athletes of the world, and all stakeholders, that WADA remains firmly committed to an athlete-centered vision and to evolving the anti-doping system in ways that better serve and support athletes worldwide.”  

Regional office for the Middle East and North Africa 

The ExCo approved WADA Management’s recommendation to pursue discussions with the public authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with a view to finalizing a formal agreement for the establishment of a new regional office.  

The office would be located in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and service more than 20 Arabic-speaking countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region). In December 2025, WADA received an official letter of intent from the KSA authorities outlining their proposal to host a regional office. Per the proposed agreement, the KSA would provide USD 14.25 million over five years to set up and operate the regional office and to support the implementation of anti-doping capacity-building, educational programs and related activities in the MENA region. 

Mr. Bańka said: “WADA is appreciative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s strong proposal and demonstrated commitment to the advancement of anti-doping initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa region. Among other benefits, the establishment of a regional office in Saudi Arabia would provide additional support towards the development and strengthening of anti-doping programs in the region. It would also allow WADA to develop closer ties with a number of regional organizations. We look forward to advancing our discussions with the Saudi authorities in the months to come.” 

Voluntary withholding of contributions by Governments 

The ExCo discussed the issue of the voluntary withholding of contributions to WADA by Governments, following which, it referred the matter for further discussion at the next meeting of the ExCo in September 2026, and subsequently at the Foundation Board level. 

This important and complex matter has been under consideration by the ExCo since 2020 and discussed on many occasions. A working group, involving representatives of Governments, the Sport Movement and WADA, was set up in 2022 to advance the matter. 

WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli, said: “The withholding of contributions by Governments for political or other voluntary reasons remains a serious topic of concern for all WADA’s stakeholders. Funding instability has a direct effect on the functioning and development of the World Anti-Doping Program. Ultimately, those who are most directly and most negatively impacted are athletes around the world.” 

Working Group on Contaminations mandate extension 

Following an interim update reflecting the work that the WADA Working Group on Contaminations (WGC) has undertaken to date, the ExCo approved an extension of the mandate of the WGC to March 2027. A further period of at least one year was requested by the WGC and agreed upon, in order to consolidate concrete proposals, consult stakeholders, and finalize a global strategy for addressing the issue of contamination in the sport and anti-doping context. Interim reports will be presented to the September and November 2026 ExCo meetings, with consolidated recommendations to be submitted to the March 2027 ExCo meeting.

Compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code  

The ExCo approved the recommendation from the Compliance Review Committee (CRC) to add the Comisión Nacional Antidopaje Argentina (Argentina NADO) to the compliance ‘watchlist’, giving the NADO four months to address outstanding non-conformities. The Argentina NADO was added to the ‘watchlist’ as it has still not fully implemented two high priority corrective actions related to the Signatory’s Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) program following an audit carried out by WADA in December 2024. 

The Argentina NADO submitted a corrective action plan explaining, to the satisfaction of the CRC, how they intend to address the non-conformities within four months, therefore meeting the criteria of the ‘watchlist’ as stated in Article 8.4.5 of the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS). By being placed on the ‘watchlist’, if the Argentina NADO fails to correct its outstanding non-conformities within the timeline, as per Article 8.4.5, WADA shall automatically send a formal notice alleging non-compliance and proposing consequences and reinstatement conditions.    

Policy for acceptance of new World Anti-Doping Code Signatories 

The ExCo approved the revised Policy for Acceptance of New World Anti-Doping Code Signatories’, to be applied by WADA as per Article 23.1.3 of the 2027 World Anti-Doping Code (Code), and revised Signatory Expert Group Terms of Reference, for entry into force on 1 January 2027. The amendments are related to: 

• The composition and mandate of the Signatory Expert Group;  
• The extension of the Policy to Major Event Organizations; and  
• The introduction of a new staggered annual compliance monitoring fee structure.  

The updated Policy and Terms of Reference will be published in due course. 

2026 Scientific Research Grants (Cycle 1) 

The ExCo approved funding recommendations for research proposals as part of WADA’s 2026 Cycle 1 call for scientific research grants and for the Special Call for Proposals on Synthesis of Reference Material. In all, six projects were selected for funding in this cycle, from a total of 32 expressions of interest, amounting to USD 267,303. Details of these projects will be published on WADA’s website in the coming months once the individual contracts are signed.  

Scientific Research Strategic Plan  

The ExCo approved WADA’s 2026-2030 Scientific Research Strategic Plan, which outlines the Agency’s plan for advancing anti-doping science over the next five years. An executive summary of the Strategic Plan, outlining key priorities and the overall strategic direction, will be published in due course. 

Technical Documents 

The ExCo approved the following four Athlete Biological Passport Technical Documents (TDs) related to the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL), namely: 

• Revised TD2027APMU (Athlete Passport Management Unit Requirements and Procedures);   
• New TD2027ENDO (Analytical and Reporting Requirements for the Blood Markers of the Endocrine Module of the ABP);   
• New TD2027BSM (Analytical and Reporting Requirements for the Blood Markers of the Steroidal Module of the ABP); and  
• Revised and renamed TD2027USM (Analytical and Reporting Requirements for the Urinary Markers of the Steroidal Module of the ABP).  

The ExCo also approved the following four TDs and a new Technical Letter (TL), also related to the ISL, but not directly linked to the ABP: 

• Revised TD2027MRPL – Minimum Required Performance Levels for Non-Threshold Substances Analyzed by Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric Analytical Methods;  
• New TD2027MRL – Minimum Reporting Levels Applied in Doping Control; 
• TD2027NA – Harmonization of Analysis and Reporting of 19-Norsteroids; 
• TD2027DL – Decision Limits for the Confirmatory Quantification of Exogenous Threshold Substances; and  
• TL27 – Sample Manipulation (Tampering or Attempted Tampering): Instructions on the Analysis and Reporting of Urine Sample Tampering or Attempted Tampering 

All TDs and the TL will come into effect on 1 January 2027 and will be published on WADA’s website. They will be provided to relevant stakeholders shortly to ensure sufficient time to implement the necessary changes. 

Laboratories 

The ExCo followed the WADA Laboratory Expert Advisory Group recommendation to grant ABP Candidate laboratory status to the Laboratorio Centro Rossi (Laboratory), located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Social Science Research Projects 

The ExCo approved the recommendation of the WADA Education Committee (based upon the expertise of the Social Science Research (SSR) Expert Advisory Group) to allocate USD 405,270 in SSR grant funding to support 11 projects for 2026. In addition, the ExCo approved USD 194,730 for SSR projects which will be commissioned in 2026 in line with the SSR Strategy 2025-2029, also approved by the ExCo in 2025. 

The projects will directly cover 48 countries. Seven projects are based in Europe (four of which include research across other continents), two in Asia, one in the Americas and one in Africa. This is in line with the goal set in the SSR Strategy of ensuring that at least 35% of funded projects are targeted outside Europe, due to the traditionally high proportion of funding received by Europe. 

The details of all the newly approved projects will be made available under the SSR section of WADA’s website in due course.   

Nominations Committee Reappointments 

The ExCo approved the recommendation to reappoint two members of the Nominations Committee, namely Diane Smith-Gander AO (Australia) as Independent Chair and Maja Zalaznik (Slovenia) as Public Authorities member. Both will begin new three-year terms on 15 May 2026. 

Future Meetings    

WADA ExCo and Board meetings for 2026 are currently planned as follows:  

Belgrade, Serbia 

• 10-11 September 2026, ExCo    

Manama, Bahrain   

• 24-25 November 2026, ExCo    
• 26 November 2026, Board