ESSENDON has welcomed news that 34 past and present players involved in the club's controversial supplements program will know their fate by mid-January.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced it will hand down its verdict on the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal in the week starting Monday, January 11.

There had been speculation that the court's findings would be handed down before Christmas but the saga will now drag into a fourth year.

However, Bombers chief executive Xavier Campbell is still pleased that the finish line is in sight.

"We're glad we now have some greater clarity surrounding the end date to this process," Campbell said.

"This has been a very difficult period for the players and their families and also more broadly for our fans.

"We now await confirmation of an exact date for the decision early in the new year."

WADA appealed the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal's verdict back in March that cleared the players of doping offences, with CAS hearings held in Sydney in November.

The fallout from the club's 2012 supplements program has been far-reaching for the Bombers, who were kicked out of the 2013 finals series, stripped of draft picks and heavily fined by the AFL.

Then-coach James Hird was banned for 12 months before ultimately falling on his sword and resigning in August this year.

The club recently admitted to breaching the Occupational Health and Safety Act in action brought by Worksafe Victoria in Melbourne Magistrates' Court and face fines of up to $610,000.