Adding in the full $500,000, the move takes to $7.75 million (£4.7 million/€6 million) the aggregate sum now committed by four countries - China, the United States and Turkey being the other three.

Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates has said, moreover, that he expects his Government to commit AUD$250,000 (£136,000/€173,000) to the project.

The Saudi donation further brightens the prospects of the fund reaching the maximum level of $20 million (£12 million/€15.5 million) implied by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach's disclosure last December that the IOC would invest $10 million (£6 million/€8 million) in the initiative.

Because of WADA's structure - the agency is funded broadly 50 per cent by the IOC and 50 per cent by Governments - the proposed IOC investment must be matched by public authorities if it is to be released in full as planned.

With the fund now apparently assured over time of at least $15.5 million (£9.4 million/€12 million), Governments have until the WADA Foundation Board meeting in Paris on November 16 to find the remaining $2.25 million (£1.3 million/€1.7 million) that would carry the fund to its theoretical maximum.

Sir Craig Reedie has said he hopes other countries will follow in Saudi Arabia's footsteps and donate to the fund ©AFP/Getty Images



Sir Craig Reedie, WADA's President, said that through its commitment to the research fund, Saudi Arabia was "sending a strong message to nations and athletes right across the world.

"I hope that other countries will play their part by signalling their intent to contribute.

"My personal thanks go to HRH Prince Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, the General President of Youth Welfare, and to Dr Mohammed Saleh Al Konbaz, the President of the Saudi Arabian Anti-Doping Committee, for their assistance in making this happen."