FIFA medical chief predicts doping-free World Cup

BERLIN, June 11 (Reuters) FIFA are optimistic that the World Cup will be free of doping and do not expect any players to test positive over the next month, Professor Jiri Dvorak, FIFA's chief medical officer said today.

He confirmed that FIFA's doping control officers had conducted unannounced tests at 24 friendlies in the build-up to the finals and carried out random tests at the training camps of all 32 participating teams before the tournament.

There were no positive results among the 216 urine samples analysed to date.

''I am optimistic we can get through the whole World Cup with no positives,'' he told reporters today.

''Recent results have been very encouraging and I think this underlines that there is no significant problem of doping in football.'' FIFA also said that in addition to their own tests, the Swiss Olympic Association had carried out unannounced tests on 14 players at Switzerland national team's training camp with no positives.

MORE TESTS FIFA has also conducted 20 per cent more doping tests thanbefore the World Cup in 2002.

''There is no reason to believe that if we were to test more players from each team, or if we were to conduct more tests outside of football competitions, we would uncover more positive tests,'' said Dvorak.

''FIFA will therefore continue to base its anti-doping strategy on testing, as well as on education and prevention.'' FIFA are working in co-operation with Germany's national anti-doping agency (NADA) at the World Cup.

Dvorak added that under FIFA's auspices 20,750 doping controls were carried out on footballers in 2004 with 88 positive cases worldwide. Of those there were just 13 cases of steroid abuse.

In 2005 23,842 tests were carried out worldwide producing just 78 positives. There were nine cases of steroid abuse.

''There have been no positive results at all so far this year and I optimistic that the World Cup will not return any positives either,'' he added.

Professor Wilfried Kindermann, the chief medical officer for the local organising committee said that all players had undergone heart tests before the World Cup and that no significant cardiovascular problems had been discovered.

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