Drug Use in Professional Football

Abstract

This chapter aims to collate evidence on the extent of drug use in professional football. Evidence of drug use and nascent ‘doping practices’ becomes more internationally diverse in the post-war era. Drug testing programmes in domestic football leagues have similarly produced relatively few positive results for performance-enhancing drugs. An alternative way of assessing the prevalence of drug use in sport is by the use of athlete surveys. A number of allegations of doping made by players and managers also suggest that the number of positive drugs tests underestimates the extent of drug use in football. The emergent findings of the German government’s investigations suggest similarities between practices in East and West Europe, and judicial proceedings published in Italy and Spain have illustrated the extent of drug provision in those nations. The testimony of a number of retired players and managers also suggested the existence of organized and systematic doping in European football.