IJF President Marius Vizer supported the partnership that is claimed to show judo's commitment to clean sport ©IJF

The International Judo Federation (IJF) has signed a partnership with the International Testing Agency (ITA) to implement a global anti-doping programme in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The partnership will begin immediately and signals judo's commitment to clean sport, it is claimed.

The ITA will be responsible for designing and implementing the global anti-doping programme and other key anti-doping services.

The anti-doping programme will include risk assessments, test distribution planning, out-of-competition testing, management of results and of the IJF’s biological passport programme and the administration of Therapeutic Use Exemptions.

The ITA will also follow-up on any matter related to compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code.

The IJF joins 33 International Federations and Major Event Organisers that have already chosen to partner with the ITA.

Its creation was approved by the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board in July of last year to provide supposedly independent doping services.

The partnership between the IJF and the ITA starts immediately and runs until Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images
The partnership between the IJF and the ITA starts immediately and runs until Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

In July, IJF President Marius Vizer said in a Twitter question and answer session that joining the ITA was a "complex issue" and claimed they would need to open a medical clinic.

When contacted by insidethegames, the ITA claimed organisations would not need to have a clinic or employ specialist staff, however, and the logistics between the two parties have clearly now been resolved.

"The IJF is committed to clean sport and we want to guarantee our members, fans and judoka that judo is and will always be a sport where the principles of sincerity and respect are upheld as per the Judo Moral Code," Vizer said today.

"Partnering with the ITA is another sign of our commitment to clean sport and to ITA's values of integrity, excellence and equality.

"We look forward to this long term partnership for the good of judo."

The message was echoed by director general of the ITA, Benjamin Cohen.

"We are delighted to announce the IJF as the latest International Sports Federation to join us at the ITA," he said.

"It is important that the entire sports movement comes together in working to protect clean sport and to uphold the values of integrity and respect that sport must convey.

"We look forward to a strong and productive relationship with the IJF in the run-up to Tokyo 2020.

"The ITA team will work tirelessly to ensure that ITA's expertise will serve IJF and equip the sport of judo with a strong global anti-doping programme."