The 2005-06 season saw the largest and most comprehensive doping control programme ever conducted in English football.

A total of 1762 drug tests were carried out by The FA and UK Sport, the national anti-doping agency, at all levels of the game, split between post-match tests and random, no-notice, out-of-competition testing. This resulted in 8 reported findings for prohibited substances (6 cocaine, 2 cannabinoids).

The programme also included the largest ever pre-World Cup testing schedule for an England team, with all squad players and the final 23 for the World Cup tested at no-notice in the months leading up to the start of the tournament.

A similar number of tests will be carried out during the coming season.

Football carries out over twice as many tests as any other sport in the UK, and accounts for around 25% of all national sports testing.