The South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) has announced its intent to appeal against potential sanctions from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) due to South Africa’s failure to update its anti-doping legislation. Wada has warned of sanctions, which may include barring the display of South Africa’s national flag at prominent sporting events and preventing the country from hosting or bidding for international competitions.

South Africa, alongside Bermuda, has been given a deadline of October 13th by Wada to achieve compliance. However, the intricate process required to implement the legislation in South Africa makes meeting this deadline improbable.

Currently, the Springboks and the Proteas are participating in the men’s rugby union and cricket World Cups in France and India, respectively. The appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is seen as a means to buy time for the South African government to avoid significant embarrassment on the global sports stage for its esteemed teams.”