World Cup players face stringent doping test

Footballers Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Gary Cahill will be among the world’s first elite athletes to undergo new doping test regimes that scientists hope will cut out the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport.

Players at 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil are to have their blood and urine compared to samples taken in previous competitions to check whether there are any discrepancies.

Their samples will also be stored for a number of years so scientists can re-analyse them in the future.