Since the 1970s with the introduction of the first reliable drug test and full-scale testing of athletes at the Summer Olympics in Munich, identifying dopers and imposing sanctions has evolved from traditional urine and blood tests to include proactive investigative techniques.

With the support of a dedicated anti-doping community that includes athletes, fans, coaches, governments, and law enforcement, WADA has been able to introduce innovative anti-doping regulations, allowing anti-doping organisations to apply sanctions in cases where there is no positive doping sample, yet where there is still evidence that a doping violation has occurred.

Missing qualification for the 2017 International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy has come as a major embarrassment for West Indies cricket and now the next two years will prove to be very crucial if they are to make the World Cup.

The regional team is currently ninth on the ICC’s official ODI rankings and will miss the Champions Trophy in 2017 in England, as it is reserved for the top eight sides.

The next important qualification date in the diaries of the 12 teams on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will be September, 30,  2017.

That is the date when the top eight ranked sides on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will earn direct qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be hosted by the ECB. The bottom four sides will get a second chance to complete the 10-team line-up in the ICC Cricket World Cup when they will be joined by teams from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the ICC World Cricket League Division Two in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.

As such, all bilateral ODI cricket in the lead up to September, 30, 2017, including the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, will now have greater importance.

The West Indies team has been inflicted with all kinds of problems which has affected their on field performance. They begin their bid back into the Top Eight against Sri Lanka from November 4 in Sri Lanka. They are carded to play three ODIs which if they win will give them valuable points because the Sri Lankans are rated higher than the West Indies.

If they win the series against Sri Lanka by a 3-0 margin, they will go to 92 points and climb ahead of Pakistan and into eight spot. It they win the series 2-1, they gain two points to move to 90 which will equal Pakistan’s tally and put them in eight spot as well. If they lose the series 1-2, they will still gain a point and move to 89 from their current 88. If however they are ‘whitewashed’ they then lose a point and go to 87.

After the Sri Lankan series the West Indies tour Australia but there are no limited overs matches on the itinerary. Next year however is a big year for the West Indies in terms of ODI cricket, as they will host the mighty South Africans and Australians in a tri-series. If they can pull wins against these top ranked sides, they can impact their rankings in a positive manner and look to put themselves in a healthy position within the top eight.

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RIA RAMNARINE’S brainchild female empowering initiative, ‘Boxing Beyond The Ring’, has been hailed as a model initiative by the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Programme (ICECP) and is now set to be implemented in Uganda in February 2016.

Having been especially invited as peer mentor to the first module (September 19-22) of this year’s ICECP at the University of Delaware Campus in Newark, Ramnarine was priviledged to once again share her life-changing experiences throughout ‘Boxing Beyond The Ring’ with participants of the 2015/ 2016 course. The former Trinidad and Tobago top-ranked female fighter was specifically chosen by ICECP Univeristy of Delaware director Matthew J Robinson to take part in this year’s programme, having been a model participant in the 2014 edition by making such a positive impact through her exploits ‘beyond the ring’.

As part of the IECEP, Ramnarine developed ‘Boxing Beyond the Ring’, an initiative designed to encourage female participation in boxing by highlighting the sport’s physiological and psychological benefits, including an increase in self-efficacy, empowerment and personal safety.

“I’ve been privileged to become part of two ICECP groups, although not a student of ICECP’s 8th edition,” shesaid. “But the group made me one of their own after the few days I spent with them, sharing advice, giving support and basically fulfilling the responsibility of being the mentor. They were a great bunch who I am sure will be very successful and make the most of ICECP.

I’d like to thank the USOC, Olympic Solidarity and University of Delaware for giving us coaches such a beneficial and amazing opportunity, and also for recommending me to this programme.

More so, my ICECP brainchild, Boxing Beyond the Ring, is set to be implemented in Uganda next February.” According to the ex-national pugilist, her recent experiences have provided her with the opportunity to become a better coach and has even propelled her into the MEMOS program.

MEMOS is an Executive Masters in Sport Organisation Management, offered by Olympic Solidarity and the University of Louvain.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ramnarine, an honours graduate of the seventh edition of the ICECP and former world champion in women’s boxing from Trinidad and Tobago also credited the works of all ICECP directors and Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee president, Brian Lewis.

“I cannot express how truly honoured I am to be asked to return and share my experiences with this year’s class. The ICECP is a great programme and I am humbled to be able to have this.” The recently-completed ICECP module featured coaches representing 34 countries and 14 sports in five continents. The 2015- 16 programme, divided into four modules, started in September and will run until May at the University of Delaware, the U.S.

Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, apprenticeship sites around the US and the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The programme aims at assisting national- level coaches in developing proficiency in the areas of sport sciences, talent identification, athlete development, safe sport, coaching education, coaching management and grassroots sport development. The intended outcome is for ICECP participants to return to their countries and serve as coaches within their respective sports while becoming foundation builders for future coaches and athletes and spreading the Olympic spirit.

“In the past seven years we have worked with over 190 coaches and the ICECP has impacted sport in over 80 countries through the efforts of the past participants,” said Robinson, UD sport management program director. “Past participants have risen to positions of leadership in their National Olympic Committees and sport federations, and have enhanced the well-being of athletes in their countries.

We will challenge this year’s class to aspire to the same goals.

ICECP would not be possible without our colleagues here at UD and in the sport community around the U.S. So many committed professionals contribute to the success of ICECP. It is a true team effort on the part of the U.S. sport community.”

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Given the current situation with the problems afflicting West Indies cricket, Queen’s Park manager Jeffrey Guillen is calling for the resignation of the entire West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

On Monday, coach Phil Simmons was suspended for his public comments concerning the continued snubbing of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard by the West Indies selectors for the ODI team.

Guillen who attended the WICB Town Hall meeting in Trinidad last week and asked the president of the WICB, why he didn’t resign after the Indian fiasco said: “We have reached a state in our cricket now where we are in serious problems and I have been calling for the president of the board to resign after India but I think the entire board should go now and let us start over with new men and implement the PJ Patterson report on the governance of West Indies cricket.

“Our problems being faced today was in the making for the last 20 years and this is because of the weak governance structures in the territorial boards. We have people who I think can do much better in administering West Indies cricket, let us give them chance.

“It is going to be very difficult to get any changes to the set of the WICB but all cricket fans as stakeholders must do what it takes to be heard and apply pressure for change.”

Guillen added that chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd is not telling the real story as far as the omission of Pollard and Bravo is concerned. “We have a situation here where Lloyd is now in favour of Bravo and Pollard coming back into the ODI team.

He is not telling the real story because in January when they were overlooked for the South African series he said that Bravo was over the hill and Pollard was not performing well enough to be on the team.

“They have not played much cricket to prove otherwise to him and yet he comes now and supports the guys coming back in. This to me is very puzzling because all of a sudden Bravo it seems is not over the hill any more. There are a lot of unanswered questions concerning this situation and it is clearly a case of the players being victimised by the WICB for the aborted Indian tour.

“The board and Lloyd needs to come clean. We have a situation where Simmons speaks his mind because he has always had West Indies interest at heart. Here is a man who nearly died on the field for West Indies cricket, so we know where his heart lies. He is a hard working honest man and now he is suspended by these bunch of jokers. We are not going to take this easy, we are going to continue to make noise for accountability in West Indies cricket.”

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ZURICH—Four years after stepping down in disgrace, former FIFA vice president Jack Warner was banned from soccer for life yesterday, accused of repeated acts of bribery related to World Cup bidding votes.

 Fifa president Sepp Blatter and European football chief Michel Platini are facing an investigation by Fifa's ethics committee.

The move comes after the Swiss attorney general opened criminal proceedings against Blatter, 79.

He is accused of signing a contract "unfavourable" to football's governing body and making a "disloyal payment" to Uefa president Platini, 60.

Blatter denies wrongdoing and his lawyer says he is co-operating fully.

The ethics committee is looking into the circumstances of a payment of two million Swiss francs (£1.35m) that Platini received in 2011 for work said to have been carried out more than nine years previously, reported the Press Association.

Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Blatter on Friday.

Platini - who worked as Blatter's technical advisor between 1999 and 2002 - was interviewed as a witness by officers from the attorney general's office.

The Frenchman is yet to explain the nine-year delay in payment but he too denies any wrongdoing.

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