Football Australia provides a national approach via policy in relation to Anti-Doping.
1. This is the Anti-Doping Policy (ADP) of Football Australia Limited and our member and sub-member organisations and applies to our sport of football as played in Australia and New Zealand.
2. This ADP is current as at the date shown on the front page as the “commencement date” and will come into force (and apply to examples collected) on and from 12.01 am on the commencement date. (All Samples collected prior to 12.01 am on the commencement date will be dealt with under the then existing applicable anti-doping rules.)
3. We have adopted this ADP so as to be compliant with the WADA Code (WADC or the Code), the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 (Cth) the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Regulations 2006 (Cth) and the National Anti-Doping scheme (NAD scheme) administered by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA).
4. Where this ADP repeats any part of the WADC that is so as to expressly incorporate the article as a rule in this ADP.
5. As this ADP is to apply to the various Events and organisations within our sport, the terms ‘our sport’, ‘us’, and ‘we’ are used to refer to those Events and organisations in a distributive manner.
6. This ADP forms part of the Football Australia Statutes.
The World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) states that the fundamental rationale of the WADC as follows:
“Anti-doping programs seek to preserve what is intrinsically valuable about sport. This intrinsic value is often referred to as “the spirit of sport”. It is the essence of Olympism, the pursuit of human excellence through the dedicated perfection of each person’s natural talents. It is how we play true. The spirit of sport is the celebration of the human spirit, body and mind, and is reflected in values we find in and through sport, including:
• Ethics, fair play and honesty
• Health
• Excellence in performance
• Character and education
• Fun and joy
• Teamwork
• Dedication and commitment
• Respect for rules and laws
• Respect for self and other Participants
• Courage
• Community and solidarity
Doping is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of sport.”