On 3 September, a regular meeting of the Ad Hoc European Committee for the World Anti-Doping Agency (CAHAMA) took place. The Committee members unanimously supported the candidacy of Matvii Bidnyi, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, for election to the WADA Executive Committee.

Matvii Bidnyi addressed the Committee members online and expressed his gratitude to the countries supporting Ukraine. In particular, for helping to organise the training process and conduct anti-doping testing for Ukrainian athletes.

The Minister of Youth and Sports emphasised that even in times of war, Ukraine continued to improve its anti-doping policy as one of its priorities. He noted that the recently adopted legislation, developed in cooperation with the Council of Europe and WADA, was fully compliant with international standards and the World Anti-Doping Code.

Matvii Bidnyi also shared his vision of his future work on the WADA Executive Committee. He emphasised the importance of ensuring the rights of athletes, their participation in anti-doping activities and providing them with proper educational tools: “WADA should seek consensus and establish close cooperation between all stakeholders, focus on capacity building at the national level, and develop more partnerships to build a stronger global anti-doping system.”

Andrii Chesnokov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, who participated in the meeting on behalf of Matvii Bidnyi, stressed the importance of international cooperation in the field of anti-doping activities: “The unanimous support of Ukraine’s candidacy to the WADA Executive Committee by all anti-doping organisations of the Council of Europe member states is an undeniable testament to the achievements of the national anti-doping system gained by our country in the context of russia’s war against Ukraine.”

The final approval of the delegates from the Council of Europe to the Executive Committee is expected in October this year during the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.