Photo: 123RF
Cultural sensitivities around drug testing at this year's FIFA Women's Football World Cup are front of mind for Drug Free Sport New Zealand.
The sample collection and testing process was set by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and it should be standard around the world, Drug Free Sport New Zealand (DFSNZ) chief executive Nick Paterson said.
"However, we know some countries are better at it than others."
DFSNZ used the standard World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) process, but Paterson said the aim was to make it as seamless and smooth as possible for athletes.
"Anecdotally, we do hear of Kiwi athletes having a different testing experience overseas, and part of our role in supporting our athletes is to take that up with our international counterparts if necessary to make sure the process is clear, consistent and supportive."
DFSNZ recognised drug testing could be uncomfortable for athletes, and it wanted the visiting women competing in New Zealand for the Football World Cup to be educated on the process so they knew what to expect in Aotearoa.
"There is a standard approach to anti-doping put forward that says an athlete's first experience with anti-doping should be through education, and therefore athletes should be educated before they are tested."
The world cup, to be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, would be the last major international event the anti-doping agency oversaw before it was folded into the new sport integrity entity in 2024.
World Champions USA will be among the teams based in New Zealand. Photo: AFP
With 16 teams based in New Zealand for the world cup the agency was prepared for additional pressure on their service as two players from each team would be tested at the end of each match in accordance with the FIFA anti-doping regulations.
The players to be tested could be selected via targeted or random methods by the FIFA anti-doping unit and would have to provide urine samples and or blood samples.
DFSNZ ran all sample collection in-house, rather than contracting out to third party organisations as some countries did, to ensure continuity of the experience for athletes in New Zealand.
DFSNZ chief executive Nick Paterson. Photo: Supplied: DFSNZ
For this tournament, the Doping Control Officers would all be female - a change Paterson welcomed but also acknowledged would require the training of more women for the role.
"Anti-doping can be quite intrusive from a personal privacy perspective, and we need to be sensitive to different cultures and religions," Paterson said.
"For instance, we know blood is tapu from a Māori worldview, and therefore we need to be sensitive to how we collect and look after the sample, such as not putting it on a table.
"In principle, only women blood collection officers are used during the tournament. For other tournaments, we might use both male and female sample collection personnel to provide field leadership and oversight or do administrative work, but again some cultures prefer that men stay firmly away from women about to be tested."
This will be the third women's world cup - following the Cricket World Cup and Rugby World Cup - in the space of two years DFSNZ had worked on.
The cricket showpiece event was carried out while bubbles and isolation were still a factor.
Paterson said the experience of the two previous world cups would make DFSNZ better prepared for the Women's Football World Cup, which kicks off in July, but also for the first FIFA Play-Off Tournament in February that will see 10 teams compete for the final three places at the world cup.