World Anti-Doping Code 2027

World Anti-Doping Code 2027

There will be a new Code in force from 1 January 2027. It will be ratified at the World Conference on Doping in Sport taking place in December 2025, giving all sports and anti-doping organisations just over a year to update their anti-doping regulations and educate their stakeholders.
The 2027 Code is in the final stages of preparation having been subject to various rounds of stakeholder consultation and drafting, so the proposed amendments are now clear.
Whilst the 2027 Code will assist Athletes a little more than previously, it will continue to present significant challenges to Athletes, particularly Athletes who are not seeking to cheat but whose ADRVs are the result of negligence or mistakes.
There are many amendments and new developments. This note highlights three of the most important proposals.

Contaminated Source

In the 2021 Code, under Article 10.6.1.2, an Athlete could reduce their sanction to as low as a reprimand by establishing No Significant Fault or Negligence and that the Prohibited Substance came from a Contaminated Product.
The 2027 Code now refers to a Contaminated Source which is a far broader definition and includes medication, food/drink, exposure to a third-party individual and environmental contamination.
This is a positive development in that it will allow more discretion for lower sanctions in cases of inadvertent ingestion which, in our experience, accounts for a significant majority of cases.
Jannik Sinner, the tennis player, is a recent example of an Athlete who would have been able to argue that his Adverse Analytical Finding was captured by the term “Contaminated Source” as he was found to have been unknowingly contaminated through physical contact by his physiotherapist. Under the 2021 Code, he was facing a one-to-two-year sanction under Article 10.6.2 (prior to the use of the case resolution agreement process under Article 10.8.2 to agree to a three-month period of Ineligibility).

Periods of Ineligibility

Currently, in order to move from the starting point of a four-year period of Ineligibility for a Non-Specified Substance to two years under Article 10.2, an Athlete must establish that the presence of that substance was not intentional.
That principle is now being refined, with one important change being that there is more flexibility in the sanctioning regime with three-year sanctions now possible. This is relevant where an Athlete a) can show that the presence of a Prohibited Substance in their system was reckless rather than intentional, being the less serious limb of the current two-part intention test or b) can establish how the Prohibited Substance entered their system and that it was unrelated to sport performance but could still not establish a lack of intention.
This amendment appears positive for Athletes. However, the revised Article 10.2 and the associated commentary is clear that point a) is for exceptional cases only, so it will be necessary to await future proceedings to see how this Article is applied.

Athlete Support Personnel

The vast majority of anti-doping cases have been brought against Athletes and not Athlete Support Personnel, including in circumstances where it is the Athlete Support Personnel who objectively appear most at fault.
The 2027 Code will now make it more likely that proceedings will be brought against Athlete Support Personnel. That is because there will now be requirements on Signatories to the 2027 Code to automatically investigate Athlete Support Personnel in cases a) involving a Protected Person or Minor or b) where more than one Athlete supported by an Athlete Support Person commits an ADRV.
Given this obligation, and other related ones, Signatories will need to take a far more proactive approach to anti-doping regulation than many will have done to date, which may require ensuring the resources to do so are made available whether on investigations or ongoing training and education. Athlete Support Personnel will also need to be similarly proactive in ensuring their own obligations are met including taking greater care to ensure Athletes in their care do not commit any ADRVs.
There is, however, no information on the impact that any greater scrutiny of Athlete Support Personnel will have on any proceedings against Athletes.

Onside Law Can Help

Onside Law has extensive experience in relation to anti-doping matters. We have advised sport’s governing bodies on the implementation of the 2021 Code so are well placed to do the same with the 2027 Code. If you would like to discuss the assistance we could offer, please do get in touch.