Marked on 17 April under the theme “Play True. It Starts with You,” this year’s campaign reinforces integrity, individual choice, and collective institutional responsibility as the pillars of the global anti-doping conversation.

Each year, Play True Day serves as a visible reminder that clean sport depends not only on rules and institutions, but also on the everyday choices made by athletes, coaches, support personnel, and sporting organisations around the world.

Marked on 17 April 2026, this year’s campaign is being led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) under the theme “Play True. It Starts with You.” The message is both simple and timely: protecting sport begins at the individual level, but its impact is collective. Integrity in sport is strengthened when personal commitment is matched by a culture that values fairness, responsibility, and trust.

This year’s campaign is again being supported by a broad digital mobilisation across the global anti-doping community, including campaign resources, stakeholder materials, and the #PlayTrueChallenge, which helps bring the message of clean sport to wider audiences in an engaging and accessible way. The growing visibility of Play True Day also reflects the increasing importance of communication, public engagement, and shared values in reinforcing the credibility of anti-doping efforts worldwide.

At IPSEI, we view such initiatives as important not only because they raise awareness, but because they help sustain a broader conversation about ethics and integrity in sport. Clean sport is not maintained by testing and regulation alone. It also depends on trust, education, institutional responsibility, and a continued willingness across the sport ecosystem to defend the principles that make fair competition meaningful.

On Play True Day 2026, that message deserves renewed attention. In a sporting world facing new pressures, new technologies, and new ethical challenges, the call to “play true” remains as relevant as ever.