Anti-Doping Intelligence & Investigation Project in Europe

Fostering better collaboration in Intelligence & Investigation for clean sport in Europe

Introduction

In June 2022, WADA was awarded a grant by the European Commission, to increase anti-doping intelligence and investigation capacity in Europe, reduce the prevalence of doping in sport and maximize the health benefits for European youth practicing clean sport.

The Intelligence and Investigation Capability and Capacity Building project will involve around 48 countries, 51 anti-doping organizations and 48 law enforcement agencies in Europe.

The multi-phase project runs over two years and aims to:

  • Provide online and in-person training to anti-doping organizations staff to help them increase in-house capacity with regards to intelligence and investigations
  • Support collaboration and information sharing between European National Anti-Doping Organizations' (NADOs) I&I teams and law enforcement agencies
  • Demonstrate to decision makers the importance of I&I to prevent doping in sport
  • Raise public awareness of the prevalence and threat of doping in youth amateur sports, not only among elite athletes

The project is based on three core activities:

  • Education and Training

  • Annual Seminar for Decision Makers

  • Public Awareness Campaign

Project Overview

  • overview-ii-europe

    During the Final Conference embedded in WADA’s 2024 Symposium (Lausanne, 12 and 13 March 2024), an overview video was presented, showing all the steps that have been put in place within the two-year pilot-project, including actions in the three core activities:

    • 4 initial training sessions for NADOs, one online eLearning for law enforcement and 6 advanced workshops with 65 law enforcement and 71 NADO experts attending.
    • More than 60 operations launched during the lifespan of the project.  
    • A public awareness Campaign “Natural is enough” conducted with 13 million impressions reaching 20 European countries.
    • Awareness campaign for decision makers to promote the value of I&I.
    • A Final conference embedded in WADA’s 2024 Symposium.
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    And new tools developed:

    • The Sport Investigation Sharing Platform (SISP). A secure communication platform available for all participants from National Anti-Doping Organizations and Law Enforcement agencies.
    • Legal framework recommendations
    • Handheld device to identify doping substances.

    Due to the success of this project WADA will continue building up a Global Anti-doping Intelligence and Investigation Network (GAIIN) in the coming years, with Asia/Oceania region next.

Education and Training

  • overview-ii-europe

    Initial training and specialized workshops covered intelligence functions and key areas of doping investigations (Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs), prohibited substances, interviews, non-analytical cases, etc.) to increase the intelligence gathering and investigative capability in European NADOs and law enforcement agencies. We also aimed to launch operational activities with NADOs and law enforcement agencies, so that theoretical learnings can be applied to investigations in real time.

    This will enable future I&I experts to manage intelligence effectively and conduct their own investigations. The impact for clean sport will be that more non-analytical ADRVs are discovered and prosecuted as cases, removing from sport those that are exposed for doping. 

  • Anti-Doping Intelligence & Investigation Project in Europe - Overview
    • Intelligence and Investigations standards have been published on WADA website in June 2022.
    • The Initial Training, which was adapted to NADOs experts on one side (training sessions) and Law Enforcement on the other side (eLearning modules) aimed to set a level playing field for all participants attending the next phase of the project
    • The Initial Training for NADO has been delivered over four training sessions between September 2022 and June 2023. Each initial training course was 2-3 hours per week covering a 10-week period. All NADO participants needed to complete the initial training to be invited to the workshop.
    • The eLearning for Law enforcement has been delivered to all law enforcement participating in the Advanced workshop via ADEL platform. All law enforcement participants needed to complete the eLearning to be invited to the workshop.
    • 6 Advanced training Workshops took place in Warsaw from March 2023 to January 2024 for one week, involving 65 Law enforcement officers and 70 NADO experts
    • More than 60 operations launched during the lifespan of the project

Annual Seminars for Decisions Makers and Final Conference

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    It is important to raise awareness, among decision makers such as ministries of sport, health and justice, and leadership of European anti-doping organizations, of doping in sport and the associated crimes committed.

    On an annual basis, WADA will organize a high-level seminar with partners such as Interpol and Europol, which targets such ministries and ADOs. In 2022, we held an information session at WADA's Annual Symposium in Lausanne, Switzerland. In March 2023, we plan to organize a seminar for decision makers to demonstrate the importance of investigation and intelligence gathering. We will conclude the project in 2024 with a conference where all training participants will discuss outcomes and next steps of an international network of investigators, intelligence analysts and confidential sources managers, to strengthen collaboration and exchange of information. More information will be shared on this initiative as the project progresses.

    •  
  • paralympic runner

    One of the key objectives of the project was to raise awareness, among decision makers such as ministries of sport, health and justice, and leadership of European anti-doping organizations, of doping in sport and the associated crimes committed.

    • On 12 June 2022, the project was introduced during the WADA Annual Symposium. A presentation was provided introducing its key objectives. More than 100 participants, mostly NADOS representatives, attended the event.
    • On 14 March 2023, the project organised a dedicated panel discussion during WADA Annual Symposium, in Lausanne, involving 5 panelists from the Anti-Doping community and law enforcement (EUROPOL), on the importance of investing more in Intelligence and Investigation capacity and capabilities. The event was very successful with the participation of 500 attendees.
    • The Final conference took place on 12 and 13 March 2024 in Lausanne, Switzerland and was embedded into WADA’s annual Symposium. After opening keynotes from WADA President, Witold Bańka, and Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, three dedicated sessions were organised, involving as speakers NADOs, Law enforcement and WADA experts who participated in the various phases of the project:

      • The first session presented the key outcomes and achievements of the project. (more than 700 attendees) 

      • The second session emphasized the operational aspects of the project with an awards ceremony.(more than 200 attendees) 

      • The third and last session further developed some key outcomes of the project and its future prospective. (more than 200 attendees) 

    • More than 100 NADOs experts and law enforcement officials, involved in the various phases of the project, were part of the event. » 

Public Awareness Campaign

  • natural is enough

    While doping is generally viewed as a problem in elite sport, it is also a threat to public health and society at large, especially to youth. Today, society is confronted with:

    • Steroid use in schools
    • Amateur athletes doping in recreational sports events
    • Young people taking steroids in a bid to 'look good'
    • Presence of criminal underworld in trafficking prohibited substances
    • Unregulated supply of non-sanitized drugs through the internet
    • Doping substances are very easy to access with limited penalties for both the consumer and the trafficker
  • bodybuilding-1

    Launched in November 2024, the campaign “Natural is enough” invited young people across Europe to join the ‘natural training movement’ by shunning the use of anabolic steroids.

    To do so, WADA has activated the following team of natural fitness influencers to spread the word on social media:

    WADA also created a web page presenting the influencers. The campaign reached 13 million people across Europe and generated 94% of positive comments on social medias.

About this pilot project

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    This 2-years project, implemented since June 2022, was selected by the EU following a call for proposals for EU pilot projects for Building capacity to better fight doping in sport in Europe (May 2021, Call reference: PPPA-SPORT-2021-FIGHT-DOPING ; Project reference: 101050036 - Anti-Doping Intelligence and Investigations Capacity and Capability Building in Europe). 

    The regulatory framework for this EU Funding Programme is set out in: 

    • Regulation 2018/1046 (EU Financial Regulation) 
    • Commission Decision C(2021)1658 on the adoption of the 2021 Work Programme for the implementation of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the area of education, sport and culture 

    Pilot projects (PP) and Preparatory Actions (PA) introduce new initiatives that might turn into standing EU funding programmes. A Pilot Project is an initiative of an experimental nature designed to test the feasibility of an action and its usefulness and lasts not more than two years. The implementation of the pilot project will take due regard to complementarity with the EU Erasmus Sport programme.

    As mentioned in the call for proposals, the main objectives of the WADA Project II CAP BUILDING are: 

    • to develop a set of complementary measures and activities that would address the issues mentioned above and that would be concretely beneficial to a maximum number of European ADOs and more globally to the anti-doping system; 
    • to allow for ADOs to partner with WADA to conduct investigations, protect whistleblowers and to cooperate on joint investigations with law enforcement agencies and the global network of investigators; 
    • to build capacity of the European anti-doping system, reduce the prevalence of doping in sport and maximize the health benefits generated by the practice of clean sport by the European youth. 

Disclaimer

This project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the European Education and Culture Executive Agency can be held responsible for them. 

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