Olympics
AT LAST, WADA TEAM GAINS ACCESS TO RUSSIA ANTI-DOPING LABORATORY
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has confirmed their three-person team has started work to retrieve crucial data from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) Laboratory in Moscow and have reported “no issues” so far.
In a statement sent to insidethegames the global anti-doping body confirmed their team have successfully gained access to the facility in the Russian capital and have begun retrieving data from the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
WADA had initially hoped to take control of the LIMS before a December 31 deadline, on the assumption it will help catch more cheats.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, Russia’s Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov has said several Russian officials are also working alongside WADA in the lab.
“WADA experts arrived yesterday and today they have started their work jointly with a group of Russian experts,” he said.
“Representatives of the Russian Investigative Committee and of the laboratory are also participating in this process.
“They have started work on the installation of the equipment and of the data transfer block.
“The work is done under a complete coordination as we have previously discussed all technical and organisational details, which are in full compliance with the criminal procedure code and all WADA procedures.
“The work is in full swing at the moment.”
On their first attempt to retrieve the data last month, WADA’s five-person team was blocked by the Russian authorities who claimed their equipment had not been certified under the country’s law.
Access to the facility before December 31 was a compulsory condition set when the WADA Executive Committee controversially lifted the suspension of RUSADA on September 20 and with the deadline having now elapsed, calls have been made for them to be declared non-compliant again.
A smaller expert team returned to Moscow yesterday as the Kremlin announced an “understanding” had been reached.
WADA have now confirmed their team have gained access to the lab 10 days after the initial deadline, but there are still fears that the data could have been manipulated.
Sir Craig Reedie, the WADA President, has said that if the trip is successful “it will break a long impasse and will potentially lead to many cases being actioned”.
He added, however, that the organisation is still working on the basis that the December 31 deadline was missed and he appeared to suggest RUSADA could still be declared non-compliant even if the data is acquired this time.
WADA are considering “all the consequences” that missing the deadline could bring, he said.
Critics have raised concerns that even if WADA do leave with the LIMS data this time around, it may have been tampered with by the Russian authorities.
“This appears to be the sequel to the cat and mouse game between WADA and Russia that we have unfortunately come to expect,” Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said in a statement.
“We are all holding our breath this is not going to be a whitewash and WADA actually gets the data on the roughly 9,000 presumptive positive test results on over 4,000 Russian athletes that hopefully have not been destroyed.”
Irrespective of the condition of the data, WADA’s Compliance Review Committee (CRC) is set to meet to discuss the situation on Monday and Tuesday (January 14 and 15) in Montreal, after which they will make a recommendation on whether to declare Russia non-compliant once again to WADA’s Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee will then consider the recommendation via a conference call.
There have been widespread calls for the CRC to meet sooner than January 14 and 15, with critics suggesting Russia have been handed a “two-week extension” in which to comply.
Those calls have been dismissed by the CRC’s head Jonathan Taylor, though, who claimed that by following “due process” and giving Russia time to respond there will be less risk of legal challenges.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face a confident and free-scoring Comoros side in the next round of the women’s football qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after the island nation completed a staggering 30-0 aggregate demolition of Sudan.
Comoros sealed their passage to the next stage with a 13-0 victory in the second leg of their first-round tie, having already recorded a commanding win in the opening match. The result saw the Coelacanthes score an extraordinary 30 goals across the two legs without conceding a single goal.
The emphatic triumph has generated excitement around the rapidly improving Comoros women’s national team, but a much sterner examination now awaits against Africa’s most successful women’s football nation.
Nigeria, ten-time African champions and one of the continent’s traditional powerhouses, enter the next round as overwhelming favourites. However, Comoros’ remarkable scoring exploits against Sudan suggest they will arrive with growing confidence and belief.
The Coelacanthes dominated both encounters from start to finish, displaying clinical finishing and defensive solidity that left Sudan with no answer. Their tally of 30 goals over two matches represents an astonishing average of 15 goals per game.
For Nigeria, the fixture will mark the beginning of another quest for Olympic qualification after missing out on the women’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Super Falcons, who recently impressed in their international friendly victories over Senegal in Ikenne, boast vastly greater experience and pedigree than their upcoming opponents. The nine-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions have consistently been among the continent’s strongest teams and remain Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national side.
Comoros coach Youssouf Abdallah has described his team’s performances against Sudan as evidence of the progress being made within the squad, but the encounter with Nigeria will provide a true measure of their development.
While Comoros’ record-breaking victory has captured attention across African football, the challenge of overcoming Nigeria represents a significant leap in quality. The Super Falcons have traditionally dominated lower-ranked African opponents and will be expected to continue their march towards a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The dates for the second-round qualifiers are expected to be confirmed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), with the winners advancing further in the race for a place at the Olympic Games in the United States.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will begin their campaign for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from the second round of the African qualifiers after being granted a bye in the opening stage.
The draw, conducted on Wednesday in Cairo by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), placed Nigeria among 29 higher-ranked teams exempted from the first round of the series.
The Super Falcons will take on the winner of the first-round clash between South Sudan and Comoros in their opening fixture of the qualifiers.
A total of 35 nations are competing for just two available slots allocated to Africa for the women’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, underlining the intensity and high stakes of the qualification process.
The qualifiers will be contested over five knockout rounds on a home-and-away basis, leaving little room for error as teams battle for continental representation on the global stage.
The first round involves the six lowest-ranked teams—Sudan, Mauritius, Djibouti, South Sudan, Madagascar and Comoros—based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Winners from this stage will advance to face each other again before the 29 seeded teams, including Nigeria, enter the fray.
Nigeria will be aiming to consolidate their status among Africa’s elite women’s football nations, having qualified for the most recent Olympic tournament alongside Zambia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Although the Super Falcons boast a notable Olympic pedigree, having made their debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and subsequently appearing at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024, qualification has not always been easy.
The 16-year gap between their last two participations in Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024 illustrates the tough time they have endured in the qualifying series.
With the women’s football event at Los Angeles 2028 set to feature 16 teams—including hosts the United States—Nigeria’s path to qualification is expected to be demanding.
Attention will now shift to the preliminary encounter between South Sudan and Comoros, as Nigeria’s technical crew intensify preparations ahead of their second-round entry point.
For the Super Falcons, the mission is clear: successfully navigate a rigorous qualifying campaign and secure a return to the Olympic stage in 2028.
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Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will on Wednesday discover their route to the football event of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the Confederation of African Football conducts the official draw in Cairo.
The draw ceremony, scheduled for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, will set in motion Africa’s qualifying campaign for the women’s football tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
A total of 35 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the race for just two tickets allocated to Africa for the Olympic football event, which will take place from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Alongside Nigeria, other contenders include continental heavyweights such as South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Zambia, as well as a wide range of emerging nations from across the continent.
The full list of participating teams also features Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
According to CAF, the qualification series will be played over five rounds, gradually narrowing the field to the two teams that will fly Africa’s flag at the Olympics in the United States.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, the qualifiers present another opportunity to reaffirm their continental dominance and secure a return to the Olympic stage after recent mixed fortunes in global competitions.
The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, are expected to be among the top seeds when the draw is conducted, a factor that could influence their early-round opponents.
Wednesday’s ceremony in Cairo will therefore provide clarity on the fixtures, timelines and potential hurdles facing Nigeria and other contenders as the road to Los Angeles officially begins.
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