United States Elected to the Presidency of the American Sports Council, Will Serve on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Executive Committee

The Office of National Drug Control Policy will work closely with sports ministers throughout the hemisphere as it monitors implementation of reforms to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

Washington, D.C. – The United States was elected president of the American Sports Council (Consejo Americano del Deporte or CADE), the 41-member association of Western Hemisphere sports ministers, in a vote conducted on April 19. Starting in May, the United States will assume the presidency of CADE and begin serving on WADA’s Executive Committee for a period of two years.

“The United States is deeply committed to working with our partner nations in CADE and across the global sports community, as well as closely monitoring implementation of the two waves of internal WADA reforms launched in the wake of the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director of National Drug Control Policy. “In this leadership role we will count on the continued advice of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the Athletes’ Advisory Council (AAC), and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).  We look forward to welcoming hemispheric sports ministers to Washington for CADE’s General Assembly during the U.S. Presidency.”

This will be the first time the United States has led CADE since it was established in 2003. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which coordinates sports-related U.S. anti-doping efforts, also represents the country at CADE. This Western Hemisphere organization seeks to promote the development of sports in the Americas through the sharing of best practices and technical exchanges and trainings. Sport ministries play a major role in the Americas by supporting the health and education of youth, as well in the development of elite athletes who compete at the national, regional, and international levels.

The country that leads CADE also serves on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee as the Americas Region sole representative on the organization’s 16-Member Board. Although the United States previously served on the WADA Executive Committee, as of 2016 this responsibility now falls exclusively to the CADE President.

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