Anti-doping education

The players at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship are not just in Belgium to compete but also to learn - off the pitch as well as on, as the anti-doping sessions that are now a standard of every UEFA junior tournament prove.

One-hour session
Since the 2005 U19 finals, at all youth final tournaments for men and women, members of the UEFA anti-doping unit join every squad for a one-hour session including instructions on how UEFA carries out doping controls and how to avoid accidentally testing positive. Players, coaches and team doctors are also shown a video explaining the whole process of a doping control from the set-up, to the selection of players, to the collection of the sample, to the transportation to the laboratory.

Much to learn
There is plenty to take in, and Professor Jean-Luc Veuthey - giving the talks in Belgium together with Caroline Thom of UEFA's anti-doping unit - says players are always keen to take advantage of the question-and-answer session at the end of each seminar to clarify issues that could affect them as they go about their daily lives outside football. "Especially about recreational drugs," Veuthey told uefa.com. "For example, they don't know cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy can be considered doping agents and can stay in the body for a long time. Also, they don't know about vitamins or supplements, what these substances can contain. And they have had a lot of questions about that." Indeed, of the seven positive tests in 2004/05, four involved youth players with cocaine or cannabis in their system.

Drug tests
Here in Belgium, players are subject to drug tests. "We have doping controls in this tournament," Veuthey continued. "Now they are educated and know what will happen. They know it could take time, it could be difficult, but they are informed." The talks are not the only part of the unit's programme; there is an educational section on uefa.com's anti-doping page. "Ronaldinho has taken part in our publicity to say, 'Be part of my team, don't take drugs'," Veuthey said. "We also had Peter Schmeichel, some coaches and players like Bobby Charlton. [UEFA President] Michel Platini also participated. For me, it is very important that young players see older peers, to see very famous players saying: 'No, don't take drugs.'"

Better information
Of course, the majority of players and coaches will never have the chance to observe these talks, which is why UEFA is developing an educational platform on its website that will be launched shortly, where more information will be given. "We hope that with the platform, they will use it not just at professional level, but also at lower levels," Veuthey went on. "We are hoping the platform will be useful for younger and older players and coaches, providing better information about doping." UEFA's anti-doping unit has a store of information on the anti-doping section of uefa.com. Lists of forbidden products, Therapeutic Use Exemption forms, UEFA's anti-doping regulations, FAQs and much more can be accessed in seven languages.