WADA postpones decision on possible Trump suspension until following World Cup
On Tuesday, the World Anti-Doping Agency postponed a decision regarding the exclusion of government officials from significant sporting events if their nations voluntarily fail to pay dues, delaying a potential clash with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials until at least after this summer’s World Cup.
The WADA executive committee convened and announced it would revisit the proposed rule in September, two months following the conclusion of the World Cup, which the U.S. is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.
If such a regulation is implemented later this year, it would likely take effect prior to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The U.S. has not remitted its dues since 2023. Should this continue, the new regulation could result in Trump and U.S. lawmakers being placed on a banned list for events in their own nation, although there are uncertainties regarding whether an anti-doping authority could prevent any of them from attending the Olympics.
Disputes with WADA have not been particularly partisan in the U.S., which withheld payments in 2024 and 2025—once during Trump’s administration and once during Joe Biden’s.
The U.S. has withheld $7.3 million over the two-year period in protest of WADA’s management of a case involving Chinese swimmers and other matters.
WADA spokesperson James Fitzgerald previously informed The Associated Press that the proposed rule would “not [be] applied retroactively so World Cup, LA and SLC Games would not be covered.”
However, the proposal, a copy of which was acquired by AP, did not contain language to support that assertion, and Fitzgerald did not reply to multiple emails requesting clarification regarding his use of the term “retroactively.”
Following the meeting on Tuesday, WADA director general Olivier Niggli stated, “the withholding of contributions by governments for political or other voluntary reasons remains a serious topic of concern for all WADA’s stakeholders.”
“Funding instability has a direct effect on the functioning and development of the World Anti-Doping Program,” Niggli remarked. “Ultimately, those who are most directly and most negatively impacted are athletes around the world.”
WADA began examining the issue in 2020, around the time the U.S. initiated threats to withhold funding. However, it asserts that the matter of penalizing governments for non-payment is not specifically linked to the United States.
A U.S. representative on the executive committee during the Biden administration—drug czar Rahul Gupta—led the initiative to reject the proposal in 2024.
The U.S. has since lost its position on the committee. The proposal resurfaced earlier this year, and in correspondence with European decision-makers, a copy of which was obtained by AP, WADA indicated that such a measure could be adopted “without undue delay.”
The Europeans also inquired why the executive committee was revisiting the issue before a working group had completed its analysis.
A decision by the executive committee would require ratification by the WADA foundation board. Its next meeting is scheduled for November, although in a February letter to the Europeans, WADA mentioned that the board could convene sooner.
