Fifa to use biological passports to combat doping at 2014 World Cup in Brazil

Next summer’s World Cup is set to be the strictest yet in terms of drugs tests after Fifa confirmed plans to introduce biological passports that would be monitored for up to three months.

World football’s governing body pledged to boost its anti-doping efforts after a meeting between president Sepp Blatter and his World Anti-Doping Agency counterpart, John Fahey, on Thursday night.

Fifa’s hope on Friday was to be able to introduce biological profiles – which can indicate hormone use and blood doping by measuring trends over an extended period – for all World Cup players in time for the tournament. Testing would begin two months before it kicks off, in line with Fifa’s drug-testing policy at major events, and continue throughout the tournament. Trials took place at the 2011 and 2012 Club World Cups and are set to continue at this summer’s Confederations Cup in Brazil.

Fifa did not elaborate on what the proposals were, but Blatter has previously suggested that points deductions and even relegation could be used as sanctions for teams whose supporters are found guilty of racist behaviour.