Sport’s financial contribution to UK Anti-Doping is “scandalous”, claims chief executive

The chief executive of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has claimed that the lack of funding the organisation receives from sports governing bodies is “shocking” and “scandalous”.

Nicole Sapstead was talking on a panel focused on sporting integrity at the Telegraph Business of Sport Conference 2016 when she called on national governing bodies to add to the £7m (US$10.1m, €8.9m) UKAD receives in government funding to counter drugs cheats and their entourages.

“I find it slightly shocking that sports are really happy for the taxpayer, the public, to pay for this,” said Sapstead, before adding: “I don’t see many sports coming to UK Anti-Doping and saying ‘let us give you some money, let us help you.’”

Echoing the call of Sir Craig Reedie – the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency – Sapstead floated the idea of a levy on sports ticket sales which could be ploughed into a “bigger integrity pot” which would be distributed for anti-doping and anti-match-fixing.

“When you’ve got the revenues coming in that some of these sports have and you look at their contribution to anti-doping you could ask whether it’s all just an uncomfortable truth,” she said.

“The bottom line is sports need to start paying for some of this.”