A team of Council of Europe experts carried out an evaluation visit in Portugal to assess its anti-doping system, from disciplinary and educational measures to national policies to ensure clean sport. Held on 22-24 November 2022, the visit aimed at evaluating how Portugal implements the Anti-Doping Convention, which entered into force in the country in 1994.

The team met with the stakeholders playing an active role in the fight against doping in Portugal, including high-level representatives from the State Secretariat for Youth and Sport and the National Anti-Doping Authority of Portugal (ADoP), as well as the National Anti-Doping Laboratory, the Anti-doping Disciplinary College, the Portuguese Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Judicial Police, the Customs Authority, the Olympic and Paralympic Committees, several Sports Federations and Athletes’ representatives.

The team’s composition reflects the vast geographical and institutional scope of the Convention and its State Parties: Michael Petrou (Head of the Evaluation Team, Cyprus Anti-Doping Authority - CyADA), Floriane Cavel (French Anti-Doping Agency - AFLD), Shafag Huseynli (Azerbaijan National Anti-Doping Agency - AMADA), Julien Magotteaux (NADO French Community [KS3] , Belgium) and Hubert Dziudzik (Polish Anti-Doping Agency - POLADA). The team analysed how the reality of the anti-doping system in Portugal aligns with the provisions of the Anti-Doping Convention.

The findings and good practices identified during the visit will be gathered in an evaluation report, which will be proposed for adoption by the Monitoring Group in early 2023, and subsequently transmitted to the Portuguese authorities for the implementation of its tailored recommendations. The adopted report will be made available to the public via the Monitoring Reports section on the Sport website.

Evaluations are part of the Monitoring Group’s mandate. Each year it analyses the anti-doping system of its State Parties through a questionnaire and several evaluation visits.

• Evaluation visits: reports by the Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention