The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has warned that Nigerian athletes may be disqualified from competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris if the Nigerian Anti-Doping Committee (NADC) does not follow the World Anti-Doping Code.
At its executive committee meeting last Thursday in Montreal, Canada, WADA accused Nigeria’s NADO, as well as those of two other nations, Venezuela and Tunisia, of failing to comply with the Code according to a statement on its website.
WADA said the “Nigerian NADO has still not addressed several critical requirements following an audit carried out by WADA in late 2022” (October 19-20, 2022).
The statement from WADA to NADO partly read, “The Nigeria NADO will be ineligible to host any event hosted or organised or co-hosted or coorganised by WADA.
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“The Nigeria NADO’s representatives will be ineligible to participate in any WADA Independent Observer Program or WADA Outreach Program or other WADA activities.
“The Nigeria NADO will not receive any WADA funding (either directly or indirectly) relating to the development of specific activities or participation in specific programs.”
“Nigeria’s flag will not be flown at regional, continental and World Championships, and events, organised by major event organisations (other than the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games), until the reinstatement conditions set out below are met.”
If the punishment is implemented, Nigerian athletes who qualify for the upcoming Olympics in Paris, France next year will be unable to represent the country.
The country has been handed a deadline of December 8 to comply or face damaging consequences.
Nigeria will not be the only country that will face such a ban if implemented from the Olympics for doping or other reasons.
Recall that Russia was banned from participating in the Olympics, World Championships, or Paralympics for four years (2019-2023) by WADA for supporting doping among athletes.
Russian athletes who were cleared of doping could only compete under a neutral flag and without their national anthem.
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