The international entity confirmed an unprecedented operation alongside agencies from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to strengthen controls before and during the tournament, and to ensure a fair competition.
Weeks away from the start of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA announced the implementation of one of the most exhaustive anti-doping programs in the history of football, in coordination with the national agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the three host countries of the tournament.
The plan includes strict controls before and during the tournament, which will take place from June 11 to July 19. In the weeks leading up to it, each National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) will conduct out-of-competition testing under FIFA's supervision, with the aim of unifying criteria from the teams' preparations.
Once at the World Cup, the operation will intensify with the joint participation of local agencies (USADA in the United States, Sport Integrity Canada, and MexNado in Mexico), whose officials will work alongside FIFA in all stadiums and host cities, with testing on match days and ongoing monitoring.
The governing body of football assured that the agreements will guarantee a homogeneous and high-quality coordination in sample collection, in line with FIFA's Anti-Doping Regulations, the World Anti-Doping Code, and current international standards.
The doping control for the World Cup will be carried out jointly by each local agency.
"Major international events require solid collaborations. Our joint work with USADA, Sport Integrity Canada, and the National Anti-Doping Committee of Mexico will double our efforts in the fight against doping worldwide and strengthen FIFA's commitment to fair and clean competition", stated Emilio García Silvero, director of the Legal Services and Compliance Division.
Representatives from the involved agencies also highlighted the importance of the agreement. Juan Manuel Herrera, representative of MexNado, stated that "supporting FIFA's fight against doping in Mexico is a very special responsibility" to ensure the integrity of the tournament.
In the same vein, Travis Tygart from USADA emphasized that "these types of international alliances are essential to ensure that honest players enjoy equal conditions", while Jeremy Luke from Sport Integrity stressed that "protecting the integrity of sport requires coordinated work".
With this scheme, FIFA aims to safeguard the transparency of the largest World Cup in history, in a context of maximum demand and with the intention of reinforcing the credibility of the competition on a global scale.
