After months of wrangling, soccer's world governing body has committed itself to enacting a global anti-doping code before this summer's Athens Olympics.

The breakthrough, which should remove any threat of soccer being kicked out of the Olympics, was achieved Wednesday in a meeting between the heads of FIFA and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter and WADA chief Dick Pound agreed on a "roadmap" leading to the formal adoption of the doping rules by the soccer body in May, three months before the Athens Games.

"I am immensely pleased that today we have put ourselves on the right track, for both FIFA and WADA have every reason to make this agreement work," Blatter said.

FIFA has long expressed opposition to WADA's provision for two-year bans for serious doping offenses, insisting that each violation should be handled on a case-by-case basis.

But Pound assured Blatter that the WADA code allows for doping cases to be dealt with individually.

In a joint statement, the two sides agreed that "all doping cases must be looked at and determined uniquely, in the spirit of individual case management."

WADA, however, retains the right to challenge any sanction it feels is too lenient by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest legal body in the Olympic movement.

The WADA code, approved by international federations and national governments last year, sets out uniform rules and sanctions cutting across all sports and all countries.

The International Olympic Committeehas warned that any sport failing to adopt the code — including soccer, the world's most popular game — will be dropped from the Olympics.

Cycling, embroiled in a new drug scandal involving the Cofidis team in France, remains the only other major Olympic sport which has yet to accept the WADA code. But International Cycling Union president Hein Verbruggen, who opposes automatic two-year bans, has said his federation will eventually sign up.

The terms of Wednesday's accord will be submitted for ratification at FIFA's executive committee meeting in London on Feb. 29. The code would receive final approval at FIFA's centennial congress in Paris in May, well before the Aug. 13-29 Olympics.

FIFA also offered to let WADA use its global network of drug testers for its own doping control programs.

"The opportunity to take advantage of the technical, logistical and economic benefits of this network creates a win-win situation for us all," Pound said.

Soccer has been hit by several doping cases in recent months, including Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand's highly-publicized failure to take a random drug test. The English Football Association has banned him for eight months, but he is appealing.

Under WADA rules, refusal to take a test should carry a two-year ban. Ferdinand's eight-month suspension could be increased if the case ends up before the international arbitration court.

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