Lausanne’s WADA bid still alive, despite EU snub

The head of WADA, Dick Pound, is also a senior member of the International Olympic Committee Keystone Archive

European Union sports chiefs have reportedly decided not to back Lausanne's bid to be the permanent seat of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), but the snub does not mean the Swiss city's candidature is dead.

A European Commission spokesman confirmed to swissinfo that directors of sport from the 15 EU member states had agreed during a meeting in Stockholm that locating WADA in Lausanne would harm the fledgling organisation’s credibility.

However, far from being downhearted, those backing the Lausanne bid will be encouraged by the meeting in Stockholm. The spokesman confirmed that the EU sports chiefs failed to throw their weight behind one of the three EU-based cities in the running to be WADA’s home: Stockholm, Bonn and Vienna.

“The European Commission strongly regrets that the 15 member states were unable to reach agreement on one single candidate city,” says Christophe Forax, spokesman for the European Commissioner for Sport, Viviane Reding.

“With three candidates it will be very difficult for an EU city to be chosen,” he told swissinfo.

Analysts believe that if the EU’s vote is split when the final decision is taken in three months’ time, it could leave the way open for Lausanne – or the other candidate, Montreal – to emerge victorious.

Lausanne is currently the temporary seat of WADA. Its backers believe the proximity of the International Olympic Committee, the headquarters of numerous other sporting federations and prestigious research facilities give it a positive advantage over its rivals.

EU officials argue that the agency would not have the independence it requires to carry out its work effectively if it is located in the same city as the IOC.

“I’m sure Lausanne would be a very nice place for WADA people to work, but it would be a very bad signal to give the impression that WADA is dependent on the IOC,” Forax says, pointing out that WADA was created on the understanding that sports governing bodies and governments would have equal representation.

But the head of the Lausanne city government, Jean-Jacques Schilt rejects the suggestion that WADA would be under the IOC’s influence if it was located in the Olympic capital: “The Sports Arbitration Court is in Lausanne, and I’ve never heard anyone suggesting that it isn’t independent. Of course you can be in Lausanne and remain independent from the IOC.”

“What the EU regards as a drawback, we see as an advantage,” Schilt told swissinfo.

Nonetheless, in many people’s minds the anti-doping agency has become closely identified with the Olympic Movement. The fact that the head of WADA is the senior IOC figure, Dick Pound, has only served to reinforce that perception.

“We still hope that the EU will decide, even at this late stage, to push very strongly for one of the EU candidates,” Forax says.

Even if they do, Schilt questions what impact they will have: “Of the 14 people who will vote on the permanent seat, only two represent EU governments. WE should get things a bit more in perspective.”

by Roy Probert