This archive report was first published on 5 January 2022.
On January 5, 2022, the International Boxing Association (IBA) reaffirmed its dedication to clean sport by renewing its partnership with the International Testing Agency (ITA) for three years.
The agreement, which includes outsourcing all anti-doping activities to the ITA, covers a wide range of services such as testing, intelligence gathering, test distribution planning, education, and Therapeutic Use Exemption handling, as well as result management and the handling of anti-doping rule violations.
Building on the previous partnership signed in 2016, the renewed agreement now also encompasses in-competition testing, long-term sample storage, intelligence and investigations, source handling, and the administration of the Reveal platform, all in adherence to the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA's) International Standards.
IBA President Umar Kremlev emphasized the importance of this partnership, stating, “Through its work with many sports, the ITA has shown the usefulness of bringing in independent experts to help ensure sporting integrity. At IBA, we are committed to this approach. It is our duty to protect our athletes and reinforce the values of clean sport in boxing. Continuing our work with the ITA will ensure we do exactly that.”
Benjamin Cohen, ITA Director General, added, “By entrusting the full range of its anti-doping programme to us at the ITA, we hope in turn that we can enable IBA to focus fully on its core mission of developing boxing, in a transparent manner, worthy of wider trust. We look forward to continuing to provide IBA and boxers with our expertise and are fully committed to supporting IBA in its fight against doping.”
The renewed partnership aims to support IBA's efforts to get reinstated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2023, with competitions such as the IBA World Boxing Championships falling under the renewed ITA partnership.
