WADA receives USD 50.000 from Poland

"WADA is grateful to the Republic of Poland for having responded to the Agency’s November 2015 call to Governments of the World for additional contributions towards its Special Investigation Fund," said Craig Reedie, President, WADA. "The contribution, which reflects Poland’s partnership and ongoing commitment to the protection of clean athletes worldwide, will be put to good use towards the Agency’s enhanced Intelligence and Investigations activity," Reedie continued. "The Republic of Poland is pleased to respond to WADA’s call for additional funding," said Witold Bańka, Minister of Sport and Tourism. "The alarming outcomes of WADA’s independent Pound Commission in 2015 and McLaren Investigation in 2016 prove that anti-doping investigations play an ever increasing role in the fight against doping in sport," he said. "The Republic of Poland acknowledges WADA’s efforts on the investigative front over the last two years," Bańka continued. "Via this contribution, Poland is encouraging the Agency to carry out additional intelligence gathering and investigative work aimed at catching more people and/or organizations that attempt to undermine the values of fair play and sportsmanship." "Beyond this contribution, the Agency would like to highlight other examples of Poland’s increased anti-doping collaboration with WADA in 2016," said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. "Most notably, as it relates to compliance, Poland adopted the necessary measures to bring their anti-doping system in line with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) by amending The Act on Sport and the regulations of the Polish Commission Against Doping in Sport; and, by finalizing a new, comprehensive, draft legislation The Act on Combating Doping in Sport," said Niggli. "In terms of partnership, the Polish Commission Against Doping in Sport signed a tripartite agreement with the Azerbaijan Anti-Doping Organization (AZADA) and WADA to help AZADA reach the standards required by the Code," Niggli continued. "Poland was also one of three countries that submitted an expression of interest to host WADA’s World Conference on Doping in Sport that the Agency has called for November 2019." Including Poland’s contribution, WADA’s Special Investigations Fund has reached a total of USD 704,903. Combined, the Pound Commission, which exposed widespread doping in Russian athletics; and, the McLaren Investigation, which exposed institutionalized manipulation of the doping control process in Russia cost WADA USD 3.7 million on an annual budget of USD 30 million.