The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has issued a directive mandating the registration of all athletics coaches — whether qualified or unqualified — by 31 July, in a bid to curb the rising number of doping cases in the country.

In a circular released Saturday, the national federation warned that non-compliance will result in blacklisting and coaches failing to register will be barred from training athletes or participating in any AFI-related activity.

The decision, originally taken during the AFI’s Annual General Meeting in January in Chandigarh, comes amid growing alarm over the involvement of coaches in facilitating the use of banned substances by their athletes.

“AFI has decided to register all coaches, qualified or unqualified, who are engaged in training athletes across various venues throughout the country,” the statement said.

“Registration with AFI is mandatory for all coaches, regardless of their qualifications. Unregistered coaches will not be permitted to impart training to athletes under any circumstances.”

Upon registration, each coach will be assigned a unique registration number and issued an official identification card. The AFI said all relevant details would be communicated to registered coaches via email.

An earlier attempt by the federation to begin the registration process in 2023 met with limited success, with only 700 to 800 coaches registering — a fraction of the estimated number.

Officials had aimed to register several thousand, citing the need for transparency and accountability as India aims to produce more than 40,000 qualified athletes by 2036.

“Most of the doping in Indian athletics is because of the involvement of the coaches,” an AFI official told the Press Trust of India. “So we are making it mandatory for the coaches to register with the AFI. It can’t go on like this, else India may be suspended.”

In addition to registration, the AFI has set up an anti-doping cell tasked with identifying coaches suspected of aiding or promoting doping, and mapping out training centres that may be operating as “hideouts” to shield athletes from random drug testing.

This intelligence will be shared with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) under World Athletics.

The anti-doping initiative stems from recommendations made by a high-powered committee led by Sagarpreet Hooda, Commissioner of Delhi Police’s Special Cell. AFI legal adviser Parth Goswami, who is also a member of World Athletics’ disciplinary and appeal panels, confirmed the move.

“One of the recommendations of the high-powered committee is to prepare a list of suspected coaches and others involved in doping, to understand who is systematically promoting it,” Goswami said.

“Another is to identify centres across India which serve as hideouts, where athletes are trained while consuming banned substances. These centres aim to avoid out-of-competition tests.”