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Indian Super League (ISL) clubs on Friday formally proposed a fundamental restructuring of the country’s top-tier professional football league, seeking permanent operating and commercial rights for a club-owned league model while retaining the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as the regulator of the game.
New Delhi: Measures are being taken rapidly to improve India’s shameful record in doping statistics and the overall decline in the rate of ‘positive’ cases in the recently released international testing data for 2024 is evidence that awareness campaigns are having an impact. A source in the Sports Ministry gave this information.
According to the latest testing data released by the World Anti-Doping Agency, 7113 tests (6576 urine and 537 blood samples) were conducted in India last year. Of these, 260 results were negative and the ‘positivity’ (positive cases) rate was 3.6 percent, which is the highest among major countries conducting 5000 or more tests.
India topped the list for the third consecutive year, which could have an adverse impact when the International Olympic Committee makes its bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. When asked whether the Sports Ministry is worried about this doping record, the source said that there has been a decrease in the figures as compared to 2023.
The source said in response to a question from PTI, ‘This rate has increased from 3.8 to 3.6 in 2023 while the number of tests had increased. This year too, more than 7000 tests have been conducted and our positivity rate is above one percent, so the improvement cannot be ignored.
He said, ‘Players and coaches will have to overcome the greed of getting government jobs, due to which these doping cases occur. Many cases happen unknowingly, like taking medicines containing banned substances, but this can be avoided with apps like ‘Know Your Medicine’.
China conducted 24214 tests in 2024 and its ‘positivity’ rate was only 0.2 percent. Another crisis looming over Indian sports is the pause in the domestic football season as the national federation is unable to find a commercial partner after the 10-year contract with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) expires.
The ministry is in consultation with stakeholders like All India Football Federation and Indian Super League and I-League clubs regarding this.
