On this occasion, athletes, organisations and the public from around the world come together in support of fair play and integrity in sport. In 2025, the theme of the day is ‘Play True: It Starts with You.’ This allows everyone to exercise their individual responsibility. The 2024 campaign reached nearly 200 million impressions and generated 260,000 interactions on social media. Even more is expected this year.
At Tata OTC 2025, held in Hungary, and in co-ordination with the European Judo Union, the IJF Clean Judo team was present to promote WADA's Play True Day and to answer questions from athletes, coaches and officials about the fight against doping. Andrea Ember, the IJF Anti-Doping Co-ordinator, shared her thoughts on this initiative:
"Since 2014, what began as a small initiative, the celebration of clean sport, known as Play True Day, has grown into a global movement. Although for most athletes, every day is Play True Day, it is important to have a dedicated day to demonstrate that this is not just a slogan but a fact of life for the majority of athletes. This year it falls on 11th April, which is an excellent opportunity to renew our commitment to clean judo."
Judo is one of the cleanest sports, and we believe that education is the key to prevention. Often, it's not bad intentions, but a lack of knowledge, that lead to sanctions that can end promising careers. Since 2023, the IJF has been organizing Clean Sport Education Workshops, offering engaging learning opportunities tailored to everyone, from cadets to seniors.
This is the second time the EJU and the IJF have come together in Tata to celebrate Play True Day. We are committed to showing, through education, that there is no alternative: play fair and compete cleanly! Anything else is contrary to the values of judo.
Clean sport doesn't happen by itself; it begins with me, it begins with you!
Source: EJU