Football and doping: study of African amateur footballers.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate use and awareness of lawful and unlawful substances by amateur footballers in Yaounde, Cameroon.


METHODS
A total of 1116 amateur footballers (1037 male and 79 female) out of 1500 contacted participated in this study. They were divided into three groups: elite players (n = 314); local players (n = 723); female players (n = 79). They answered a questionnaire of 30 items grouped under six main topics: identification of players; use of lawful substances subject to certain restrictions on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) list; use of IOC banned substances; doping behaviour; awareness of doping; food supplements. The results of the questionnaire were scrutinised using Microstat software, and the level of significance was p<0.05.


RESULTS
(a) Use by our footballers of a banned substance (cocaine) and substances subject to certain restrictions (alcoholic drinks, methylated spirits, and banga (marijuana)). (b) Doping behaviour: use by our footballers of substances with similar effects to some IOC banned substances but not listed as such: tobacco, liboga, wie-wie (narcotic), bilibili (locally made alcohol drink). (c) A large intake of vitamin C (food supplements) in all three groups. In contrast, the footballers' knowledge of doping was vague.


CONCLUSIONS
Preventive actions and an epidemiological study of doping among footballers are urgently required.
Ama
P F M
PF
National Institute of Youth and Sports, Yaounde, Cameroon. pierreama@yahoo.fr
Betnga
B
B
Ama Moor
V J
VJ
Kamga
J P
JP
D000328:Adult; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D004300:Doping in Sports / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012916:Soccer / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D001205:Ascorbic Acid