Cooperation to build honest and transparent sports

VHO - Within the framework of the 16th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Sports (SOMS-16) taking place in Hanoi, on October 14, ASEAN Senior Officials on Sports continued to have an online working session with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The meeting took place under the direction of Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Department Nguyen Hong Minh.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Hong Minh (right) chaired an online meeting with WADA.

At the Conference, delegates paid much attention to the work of preventing and combating doping in sports from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Ms. Mayumi Yaya Yamamoto - Director of WADA Asia/Oceania Office - gave a preliminary report on the results of ASEAN - WADA cooperation in the period of 2022-2025, aiming to build an honest, fair and doping-free sports environment.

The ASEAN-WADA Memorandum of Understanding signed on March 14, 2022 will be extended after 2025, with contents focusing on supporting countries to build independent National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) that comply with the World Anti-Doping Code, while promoting education , training and awareness raising for athletes, coaches and sports administrators.

To date, five ASEAN countries have independently operated NADOs, two others have received intensive technical assistance, and dozens of GLDF training courses have been organized to help officials improve their skills in anti-doping investigation, monitoring and enforcement.

WADA, in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Regional Anti-Doping Organization (SEARADO), is reviewing and finalizing the legal framework in member countries. Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia now have independent operating systems, while Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia are in the process of finalizing international standards.

In the coming period, WADA and ASEAN will implement the World Doping Code 2027, expand the intelligence and investigation network and promote the policy enforcement support program associated with the UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Hong Minh (second from left) and delegates from ASEAN countries

Two upcoming international events, including the World Anti-Doping Conference in Busan (Korea, December 2025) and the AORIM Intergovernmental Ministerial Meeting in Beijing (June 2026), will be opportunities for ASEAN to affirm its pioneering role in efforts to build clean sports.

Also within the framework of today's working session, ASEAN member countries had effective working sessions with many affiliated organizations such as: SEARADO, Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF), ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Sangmyung University, KFA Love Sharing Foundation, Sports Alliance.

The partners shared initiatives, cooperation results and proposed development directions in the fields of training, community sports, school sports and capacity building for coaches, referees and athletes, towards a united, dynamic and sustainably developed ASEAN.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/hop-tac-xay-dung-nen-the-thao-trung-thuc-minh-bach-174697.html