FA selects players for drug tests

Selected England players will face random drug tests

The Football Association has agreed between 10 to 20 England players who will have to make themselves available for random drug tests.

The head of UK anti-doping (UKAD) Andy Parkinson said the players who will be affected have not yet been informed.

Most of the players will come from the England senior squad but members of the under-21s may also be called.

The players will have to give details of their whereabouts for an hour of each day, even if they are on holiday.

There would be no exemption for players who play abroad as UKAD could use testers from foreign anti-doping agencies to take samples.

Parkinson said: "We have agreed the names of the players in the pool, and we are in the process of agreeing how and when we inform those players and how we introduce them to the system."

The new programme is more stringent than the testing regime required by Fifa, football's world governing body.

Fifa's testing requirement is that players only need to be tested on club duty at matches and training unless they are suspended or out with a long-term injury.

The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has urged testers to avoid invasions of privacy if possible.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor stated: "I think this is something we are going to have to live with for the time being and see how it goes.

"I would just hope that the testers are not going to be too invasive, particularly when players are on holiday."