A German report was released outlining an ongoing "doping" habit in sports originating in the 1950s.
The report puts the history of German sports under scrutiny. During the 1966 World Cup several football players were found to have ephedrine in their systems, which can be used as a decongestant in some cases, Reuters reported.
"The until now unknown letter from FIFA official Dr. Mihailo Andrejevic informs the president of the German athletics federation, Dr. Max Danz, that in doping tests conducted by FIFA at the end of the 1966 World Cup, three players of the German team had 'slight traces' of ephedrine," the report said.
FIFA holds it had no knowledge of the incident until the letter surfaced.
The report claims many German athletes have used "doping" to enhance their performance in the past and present.
"The Interior Ministry has a strong interest in a complete clarification and assessment of the history of doping," ministry spokesman Philipp Spauschus said in a press conference before the release of the documents.
According to the report, in the 1970s taxpayers' money was going towards "anabolic steroids, testosterone, amphetamines and EPO." The drugs were used for government experiments.
In 1976 West German athletes were given a "controversial injection" before the Olympics. According to the report, football players were given amphetamine (fighter-pilot chocolate) as far back as 1949.
It had already been known that East Germany had participated in state-run doping during the Cold War era, but this is some of the first evidence of practices in the West.
"Coaches always told me that if you don't take anything then you will not become something. Anyone who became something was taking it [testosterone]," a senior sports federation official said, as quoted in the report.
Thomas Bach, president of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) believes the country should take a stand against use of performance-enhancing drugs.
"I am confident we can reach our goals to have full knowledge about the past and to learn the lessons for the future. This will strengthen our zero tolerance policy against doping," he said.
Bach said the DOSB has given 3.5 million Euros to anti-doping agencies over the past year.
"Combating doping is, of course, primarily the sport industry's responsibility, but the German government supports it to the extent that this falls within its responsibility and campaigns for clean sport that is free of manipulation and uses taxpayers' money for this purpose," Bach said
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