A new urine test designed to catch athletes who take steroids will be introduced by the World Anti-Doping Agency next year and used at the World Cup in Brazil.
WADA called it ''the twin'' of the blood profiling currently used in the athletes' biological passport system. It will allow anti-doping authorities to build a profile of a person's steroid levels from urine samples and to identify any changes - in a similar way that changes in blood may indicate doping.
WADA said Tuesday the new technique will particularly target testosterone and will ''complement'' the biological passport. It can be used starting Jan. 1, WADA President John Fahey said at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in South Africa.
FIFA will be one of the first federations to use it. The world soccer body said later Tuesday it'll be part of its drug testing at next year's World Cup.
Blood profiling has been in use since 2008. It has had success in detecting the use of the blood-boosting drug EPO and led to bans for a number of cyclists. It is currently used by around 35 sports, WADA says.
WADA has also developed a mobile app that allows athletes to give their whereabouts through their cellphones or other devices so they don't miss out-of-competition tests. The new app will be available next month.
