Cabinet to create independent body to fight doping and misconduct in sports

The Dutch cabinet plans to establish an independent organization to address misconduct in sports, including doping, match manipulation, and socially unsafe behavior, State Secretary Judith Tielen (Sport, VVD) announced. The new body, to be called Integere Sport Nederland (ISN), aims to support the sports sector in preventing and investigating integrity violations.

“This is an important step to make sports safe again,” Tielen said. “Unfortunately, things still go wrong too often. The sports world remains vulnerable.”

ISN will be formed under the pending Integrity in Sports Act (Wet integere sport). On Monday, Tielen will release a first draft of the bill, allowing stakeholders, including organizations within the sports sector, to provide feedback.

Currently, reports of misconduct are handled separately by the Doping Authority and the Safe Sport Center of NOC*NSF. Under the new plan, these two bodies will eventually merge into ISN, although they will continue to operate temporarily until the new organization is fully established.

Unlike the existing agencies, ISN will have the authority to investigate reports directly. Following investigations, the organization can advise on next steps and, if necessary, refer cases to law enforcement.