PPF officials emerged from a meeting in London with WADA Director General David Howman pledging support for WADA’s s campaign for drug-free sport and the Agency’s commitment to ongoing consultation with the player associations was welcomed.
But the parties diverge over recreational drugs. PPF chairman Brendon Batson told a news conference that: “Recreational drugs have no place in professional sport but the time has come to recognise that they are not performance enhancing. The PPF believes that recreational drug abuse is best dealt with through treatment and rehabilitation rather than a blanket ban from training and playing.”
The drugs issue will be among the key issues on the agenda at the inaugural Professional Players Federation conference, at the Novotel, St Pancras, London, on October 27.
The programme, which is currently being finalised will also draw from subjects including:
Betting - Facing up to its impact on sports professionals
Only Obeying Orders? - What is the impact on individuals when a professional sportsman is told to cheat?
Athletes in the Community - Harnessing and recognising a powerful force for change
Governance - Who should run British sport?
Sponsorship - Maximising the value of endorsement deals.
The conference aims to provide a meeting place and forum not only for the UK’s professional sportsmen and women but sports administrators and commercial organisations which contribute to the thriving sports sector.
