Due to the impending 2024 Africa Women’s tournament featuring 12 countries to be hosted in Accra in November, the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) saw this as the perfect time to sensitise the main actors involved in the sport locally on the menace of doping, it’s dire effects and how to prevent it.

The event was administered by the National Anti-Doping Committee which is now a NADO with affiliations to both RADO and WADA per the billed passed recently, with a national secretariat based inside the Accra Sports Stadium. Plans are also advanced to launch certification courses for athletes support personnel of all sporting disciplines to equip them to work hand in hand with the federations to combat doping.

Prince Azanu, officer in charge of anti-doping at the national secretariat who lectured the one-day seminar at the Accra Sports Stadium, expressed satisfaction with the response by participants, hailed it as progress in the right direction as well as a must for all sporting disciplines.

“This exercise is very important and I was happy with their responses especially the Q&A session brought out a lot. So far as sports is going scientific, anti-doping has come to stay. We want to make sure that our athletes are well-versed in anti-doping issues. We hope that this will go a long a way to keep our people in touch with latest anti-doping trends around the world,” Mr. Azanu said.

“Per their responses, I can say this was timely because some didn’t know a lot about the subject. On a scale of one to ten, they are currently at 7, they need more education, they need to be abreast with the current trend of anti-doping rule violations and exemptions as well as the consequences of doping,” he noted.

“I believe that going forward more and more of these fora must be organised for all federations. I will project that within a year, athletes and athlete supporters should have this forum often because we need to educate to the point that nobody will have an excuse that they are not aware of the dos and don’ts of anti-doping,” Mr. Azanu affirmed.

In all, 38 participants were lectured at Saturday’s seminar which according to GRFU officials present, will be instituted as a continuous and regular programme that will remain a constant feature on the calendar.

“Anti-doping has been in existence for a long time but the world governing bodies are taking it very seriously now, so it is a must for all countries to educate not only the players but coaches and everybody taking part in terms of rugby or sports. It’s a very good programme that I think all federations must take seriously,” Rafatu Inusah, Board Member, GRFU said.

“So today we are also taking the mantle to continue to educate our players and coaches and all volunteers in rugby in terms of all that they need to do or not do so that we will not be victims in international competition. It’s a programme we are going to make constant for all players, coaches and officials every year or mid-year,” she added.

Top players of both male and female 7s and 15s national teams as well as coaches and technical officials of clubs in the local rugby leagues expressed satisfaction with the lessons imbibed on the day and are confident it will help them avoid doping issues as athletes.