2024-07-07 04:14:41
This body, headed by Mrs. Fatima Abouali, recently appointed to this position, denotes the desire of those responsible for sports to strengthen the Kingdom’s policy in the face of the phenomenon of doping in the sports field, in order to preserve the reputation of its athletes during their participation in various national, continental and international competitions.
The first signal of the desire to limit doping among athletes was given following the unanimous adoption by the House of Representatives on August 4, 2016, of bill no. 97-12 relating to the fight against doping in sport.
This bill aims to prevent and combat doping in sport, preserve the health of athletes and avoid practices that undermine the ethics of sport, its values and its objectives.
This step was followed by the approval, on May 30, 2019, in the Council of Government, of draft decree No. 2.18.303 implementing Law 97.12 on the fight against doping in the sports field, which is part of the Kingdom’s implementation of the provisions of the International Convention against Doping in Sport, adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and signed in Paris in October 2005, and of the International Convention against Doping in Sport.
Established with the aim of implementing Law 97-12, this decree includes 63 articles divided into four axes relating to the appointment of members of the Board of Directors of the Moroccan Anti-Doping Agency, the conditions and modalities for granting authorizations for the use of tablets and prohibited materials for treatment purposes for athletes or animals used in the sporting field.
The text also sets out the terms of the anti-doping control operation carried out by the Moroccan Anti-Doping Agency, which schedules and carries out anti-doping control operations, and also specifies the terms and cases of disciplinary decisions taken against persons who have violated the rules of the fight against doping.
On the other hand, the decree specifies the categories of athletes targeted, in particular “athletes who are members of national teams in Olympic and Paralympic disciplines and other sports of high national priority, as well as athletes who train independently but compete at an Olympic, Paralympic or international level.
It also sets out the terms and cases of disciplinary decisions taken against persons who have violated the rules of the fight against doping, as well as the parties who must receive the disciplinary decision issued by the disciplinary commission (supervisory minister, Moroccan National Olympic Committee or the Moroccan Olympic Committee depending on the case in question, the Federation concerned, the International Federation concerned and the World Anti-Doping Agency).
In this sense, Ms. Abouali indicated that the creation of this body reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to international conventions in the fight against doping.
The supervisory authorities are well aware of the health, moral and material consequences of the abuse of doping substances for athletes, as well as their negative impact on sporting values, especially after their spread in recent years and in a considerable way in various fields, she said in a statement to MAP.
Dr. Abouali recalled that the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, as the main actor concerned by the fight against doping, had conducted several awareness campaigns on the extent of the danger of the use of these banned substances in the sports field in order to prevent athletes from falling into the trap of doping and thus avoid its negative impact on national sport as a whole.
The head of the Sports Medicine division at the ministry explains that in addition to adhering to international conventions relating to the fight against doping, Moroccan laws remain the supreme means to combat this phenomenon, like law no. 97.12 which suits the specificities of the Kingdom in this regard.
“If this law is applied in the strictest possible manner, it will drastically limit this phenomenon and create a healthy sports space,” she stressed.
Regarding the role of the Agency and its missions, Ms. Abouali said that the appointment of a president, which came after several stages that began in 2008 with the preparation of the law regulating this body and the implementation procedures, is a first achievement that precedes the appointment of the rest of the constituent structures and which includes the Board of Directors and the Disciplinary Council.
The latter, the president continued, will be responsible for resolving all disciplinary cases related to doping cases involving athletes and determining the appropriate sanctions, in addition to imposing sanctions on people who trade in these doping substances.
On the other hand, the official expressed hope that the Agency will be able to limit the spread of these substances in the sports field in Morocco by adopting proactive measures to prevent these drugs from reaching the sports community and by adopting scientific methods to train athletes through intensive training and medical monitoring.
The President of the Moroccan Anti-Doping Agency emphasizes the need to work according to a national program that meets the aspirations of the International Anti-Doping Agency and to convince the international body of the seriousness of the Kingdom and its real involvement in the fight against doping as well as its capacity to create a national laboratory for the detection of doping, which will be the second on the African continent after the one in South Africa, especially after the closure of the laboratory in Tunisia.
Created to protect Moroccan athletes, the Moroccan Anti-Doping Agency, through its Board of Directors, which will be appointed later, is fully aware of the challenges and issues that await it for the moralization of sports practice, insisted the official.
Among these challenges, adds Ms. Abouali, the establishment of a plan for the realization of large-scale laboratory analyses targeting a wide category of athletes, as well as the preparation of a national program to fight against doping that includes large awareness campaigns on the danger of doping substances, through seminars and round tables.
2024-07-07 04:14:41