Leacock to tackle doping in SVG football

President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF) St. Claire Leacock has re-affirmed his organisation’s stance in curbing doping and any other form of performance enhancement method in the sport.

Leacock said that the SVGFF stood united with football’s world governing body, FIFA on the issue.

Doping in football, was one topic discussed at FIFA’s 55th Congress held in Marrakech, Morocco, September 11 – 12.{{more}}

Leacock, who headed this country’s three man delegation to the Congress, said that FIFA would be working with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to tackle the problem.

Cited as one of the new challenges facing the sport, Leacock said that no efforts would be spared on the local front.

Although the proper mechanism is not in place, the local football chief revealed that the Federation stood ready to sanction players who were found guilty of doping.

In an effort to nip the problem at the grassroots level, Leacock disclosed that FIFA was willing to fund humanitarian projects in member countries.

He said that he identified Sharpes and Greggs as villages for such initiatives.

At the Morocco meeting, St.Vincent and the Grenadines was among 198 countries which endorsed the creation of the FIFA “Task Force for the Good of the Game”.

The task force comprising mainly experts and representation from key groups of the international family looking into ways of closing the gap between football’s rich and poor nations.

FIFA’s President Joseph. S. Blatter observed that the gap between football’s rich and poor was widening, as was the imbalance between associations and leagues.