Like other organizations, UEFA is changing their strategy and is collecting a lot of samples in the out-of-competition setting (around 25% during the season 2013/2014), in particular more blood samples (250 out-of-competition versus 88 in-competition). Although a lot of samples were collected, only one tested positive (methylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine), and the player was banned for 18 months [1].

FIFA is also very committed in the fight against doping. Before the start of the last FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014, players of all participating teams were subjected to out-of-competition doping controls, and samples of urine and blood were collected from all of them. During the tournament, the players were also submitted to in-competition doping controls. In order to ensure an even more reliable procedure, all samples were analyzed at a laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, which means that FIFA had to organize a very complicated operation to obtain the samples in Brazil and have them sent securely and safely to Switzerland and analyzed. As one of the first federations worldwide, FIFA tested the players in 2015 for gene doping.

Table 54.2 includes all samples (urine and blood, in- and out-of-competition) collected by FIFA and UEFA worldwide during 2013. In total, 28,002 urine and blood samples were collected [3]. The ATF and AAF are shown. The AAF includes the presence of a prohibited substance or method, which means, for instance, that a prohibited substance was found in the urine. This occurred in 140 cases (0.5%). The atypical finding occurred 270 times (0.96%). No AAF or ATF occurred in the blood samples.

In Portugal, the Portuguese Authority for Doping control (ADoP) collected 3404 samples in all sports during 2013 [4]. These included 1086 samples collected from football players (728 in- and 358 out-of-competition samples). There were 35 analytical adverse findings (1.03%) in all sports. For football, there were five AAF (0.46%); the substances found being cannabinoids (1), diuretic (2), and cocaine (2). During 2014, ADoP collected 1120 samples in football (805 in- and 315 out-of-competition), three were AAF, and none included cannabinoid or cocaine. These kinds of substances are troublesome in other countries as well. In 2013 in Italy, amateur and professional football players presented seven AAF (0.5%), and the substances detected were tetrahydrocannabinol (1), cocaine (3), betamethasone (2), and clostebol (2). In Spain during the 2011/2012 football season, as well as in futsal and women’s football, several AAF were found to have the consumption of cannabinoids and cocaine.

Is doping a problem in football? The answer is yes, because there are still players with an AAF, and quite a large and unexpected number of those are due the consumption of so-called social drugs (cannabinoids and cocaine). The number has been decreasing, however, for two reasons in particular. Firstly, in 2013, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) raised the threshold of disqualification for use of cannabinoids from 20 ng/ml to 150 ng/ml, which means that any low-level or long-time consumers are no longer caught [2]. But this must not tranquilize the low consumers, because it is never known how much is needed to have a positive result. The second reason and much more importantly is the education program implemented by World and National Anti-Doping Organizations. Thanks to them, athletes are learning that it is not worth consuming social drugs as they are bad for their health, social life, and sports career. Doping controls are still needed, however, to ensure athletes avoid this kind of behavior. The sanctions for cannabis are never 2 years. The vast majority of cannabis positives lead to a sanction ranging from a reprimand to a 6-month ban, but there are cases where athletes received a 2-year ban for cannabis. With the new code, it might be even more.