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Minister of Sports Oleg Matytsin said during the All-Russian Forum of Clean Sports in Suzdal that he hopes to develop a fair formula for the contribution that Russia is obliged to pay to the budget of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). About the history of financial relations between our country and the organization that is “a nightmare” for it, as well as about their possible continuation — in the material of the correspondent.
First, a historical background. WADA was created in 1999, and at the same time two mandatory sources of its funding were identified. The first is the total contribution of the world's governments. The second is the Olympic movement. The IOC contributes the same amount as the participating countries. WADA also has additional sources of income in the form of additional contributions from the founders and benefits from participation in various projects and partnerships with other organizations.
By 2022, WADA's budget has grown from an initial $15.5 million to the current $46 million in US currency. The organization attributes this increase in spending to significant contributions to research, education, investigations, management reform, code compliance monitoring and other agency activities.
WADA's cost structure was developed in 2001 during a meeting of the Intergovernmental Anti-Doping Advisory Group in Cape Town. According to this formula, European countries bear the largest financial burden — 47.5% of the agency's budget, followed by the Americas — 29%, Asia pays 20.46% of the budget, Oceania — 2.54% and, finally, Africa — 0.5%.
The distribution of payments within each region is fixed by the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sports. Russia is one of the largest payers of WADA's bills. The largest contribution to the agency's budget is provided by the United States — almost 3 million 420 thousand dollars, and in Europe the largest payment is made in equal shares by Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain and Russia. So, in 2023, we must transfer 1 million 267 thousand 23 dollars to the budget of the World Anti-Doping Agency. And it was in relation to this payment that the Ministry of Sports had questions.
Which, it should be noted, have arisen before. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), amid the scandal surrounding the story of the Moscow anti-doping laboratory and its fugitive chief Grigory Rodchenkov, was deprived of its compliance status with the WADA anti-doping code in 2015. After three years of ordeal, he was restored — but not for long. Due to accusations of manipulating the laboratory's database, RUSADA was once again banned. Now with the deprivation of the right of Russian athletes to compete under their flag at the Olympics and World Championships. Initially, the sanction period was four years, but in 2020 the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced it to two years.
And all this time, Russia continued to faithfully pay its annual contribution, which, with the increase in WADA’s budget, grew in appropriate proportions. The question is: a million dollars, and now more — for what? For the blatant politicization of the fight against doping? Otherwise, there is no other way to describe the process when the closest attention is paid to incidents occurring in one country, accompanied by unfounded accusations of creating a state system and sanctions on all athletes en masse, while doping violations in other countries, often not comparable in scale to ours, are actually turned a blind eye .
For example, did American sports suffer any collective punishment for the activities of the BALCO laboratory, which supplied many world-class stars with prohibited drugs? Or for the “scientific research” of coach Alberto Salazar, who worked at the athletics center in Oregon, who put the use of doping in athletes, starting from junior age, on stream?
These questions are rhetorical, but WADA sanctions against Russia are real. Which, by the way, does not even think of ending when the CAS decision expires. December 17, 2022 has passed, and RUSADA has still not been restored to its status. WADA voices demands to bring Russian legislation into line with its code, which, even if they have a basis, cannot be fulfilled by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency itself, since it is not involved in legislative activities.
And WADA President Witold Banka continues to repeat the thesis about “an extremely low degree of trust in the Russian anti-doping system.” Without explaining what such a statement is based on — after all, RUSADA has long fulfilled all the points of the road map put forward by the same WADA. But the World Anti-Doping Agency continues to take a million dollars from “not trusted Russia” every year — and now more.
It is important to note: Russia does not refuse to pay its contribution to WADA. Matytsin emphasized this in his statement. But he insists that after our country leaves the Council of Europe, there must be a recalculation of the payment formula, which was previously based on contributions to this organization. This issue will be raised during the Conference of the Parties to the UNESCO Convention on October 25-27 in France. If a universal formula for financing WADA is developed, Russia will transfer its mandatory contribution to the budget of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
This begs the question — what will happen if this does not happen? The answer involves many unknowns, but most likely it is: nothing will happen. Globally, Russia is already excluded from the world sports movement. Athletes performing at international competitions represent themselves. Even if Russian athletes are allowed to the Olympics in Paris, it will only be in a neutral status, this is already clear from the statements of IOC President Thomas Bach and the current IOC recommendations.
Well, what about those who has a neutral status, claims that relate to Russia are, of course, possible. But this on the part of WADA and other international sports structures will be the height of cynicism and a violation of their own declared need to respect the rights of athletes and people. So, maybe now is really the right moment to kindle the fire of the World Anti-Doping Revolution?
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors.