World's anti-doping agency revokes status of Africa's only testing lab

The only recognized drug-testing laboratory in Africa lost its right to work in sports, the World Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday.

WADA revoked accreditation for the anti-doping lab in Bloemfontein, South Africa, “due to its inability to satisfactorily address multiple nonconformities.”

The lab has been suspended since September 2023 for issues including detecting steroids in athlete samples.

WADA has accredited a network of about 30 labs worldwide and samples collected in Africa can be transported to testers in India, Qatar, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.

Collecting samples from remote athlete training centers and transporting them long distances increases the risk they will degrade and be unusable for testing.