On Sunday, 21 November 2010, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation Board will at their meeting to be held in Canada, decide on the host for the 2013 World Conference on Doping in Sport. Like the rest of Africa, South Africa will await the Board’s decision with great anticipation as the City of Johannesburg is one of the candidates competing to host the conference. The City of Johannesburg is competing against Dallas (USA), Ljubljana (Slovenia); and Sochi (Russia).
The 2013 Conference will be the fourth on the WADA calendar, following those hosted by Lausanne, Switzerland (1999), Copenhagen, Denmark (2003) and Madrid, Spain (2007).
Sport and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) is fully behind the bid to host the Conference and both former Minister, Reverend Dr Makhenkesi Stofile in his capacity as the Minister, and the current incumbent, Mr Fikile Mbalula, have formally sent their endorsement of the bid to WADA. Support for the bid was among others, also received from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC); South African Tourism; and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). The bid follows South Africa’s successful hosting of the African Regional Anti-Doping Conference in 2008.
South Africa participates actively in WADA activities and has since its (WADA’s) inception, shown total support for anti-doping and the World Anti-Doping Code. Commenting on the bid, Sport and Recreation Minister, Mr Fikile Mbalula said “we have signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport, ratified the UNESCO Convention on Doping in Sport and have represented Africa at both the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board.
The country has also led Africa in the implementation of anti-doping strategies and continues to lobby African Ministers at the meetings of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA), to ratify the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention”.
If the City of Johannesburg is chosen as the host of the conference, South Africa will see between 2 500 and 3 000 delegates descending onto its shores in 2013. The conference is set to attract senior policy makers, sport officials, academics, the media, and the private sector amongst others. “We are confident that the City of Johannesburg will emerge as hosts, come Sunday”, said Minister Mbalula.
In South Africa, the promotion and support of the elimination of doping in sport is the responsibility of SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS). The South African Doping Control Laboratory is situated at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.
For enquiries:
Paena Galane (Ministerial Spokesperson)
Cell: 079 509 9833
Hajira Mashego (Director: Scientific Support)
Cell: 082 924 2775
