The information, relayed by the TASS agency, is reliable since it comes from the Russian Ministry of Sport: Russia has not paid its annual contribution to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s 2023 budget. The country was supposed to pay the sum of 1,267,023 dollars. It never arrived in WADA’s coffers. In Europe, countries subsidize the agency according to a calculation based on their contribution to the Council of Europe budget. Russia left in March 2022, after the start of the military operation in Ukraine. “It is therefore necessary to develop a mechanism for payment of the annual contribution to WADA for countries that are not members of continental organizations, in particular the Council of Europe“, explains the Russian Ministry of Sport. In the meantime, Moscow seems determined to withhold payment until the matter has been discussed by the parties involved. According to official documents consulted by TASS, eight countries pay WADA an annual contribution in excess of $1 million. Russia, the UK, Germany, Italy and France are paying $1,267,023 for 2023. The United States ($3,419,795), Canada ($1,709,897) and Japan ($1,502,800) pay a larger subsidy. With the exception of Russia, all these countries have already paid their dues in full for the current year.
