Credibility figures: transparency gains ground

Since the beginning of the year, an average of 55 procedures per month have been revealed in high-level sport. This figure has been constantly rising for two years.

While more and more international federations are making public the anti-doping procedures initiated in their disciplines, some national anti-doping agencies remain very discreet on the matter. This is no longer the case for NADA India or ADAK Kenya, which have recently adopted transparency. These revelations obviously have a strong impact on the barometer that the MPCC publishes several times a year since 2014. At the end of the first 4 months of 2023, India ranks first for the first time in the number of cases revealed, ahead of the usual “leaders”: Russia and the United States.

This communication on an abundant number of procedures has forced the MPCC to analyze each one on a case-by-case basis, as only procedures related to high-level or professional athletes, revealed by federations, anti-doping agencies, justice, or the press, are retained. Since 2018, the MPCC has included cases of fraud and corruption concerning staff often close to athletes, as well as match-fixing that can directly involve athletes.

To date, cycling has only three procedures revealed by the UCI website, concerning continental road teams (Portuguese and Italian). Two of the three riders involved are former WorldTeam and ProTeam members who had moved down to the lower tier.

None of these revealed cases concern an MPCC member team. The movement brings together 40 professional teams from the first and second divisions (men and women) for only 16 continental teams. The MPCC strongly encourages these semi-professional teams to join the MPCC cause, in order to place their ethics and credibility at the heart of our sport’s concerns.