Sportradar Extends Integrity Agreement with AFC

Sportradar has renewed its long-term integrity agreement with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The move is a testament to the latter organization’s commitment to high integrity standards and will see the two parties collaborate from 2024 through 2027.

For reference, the original integrity partnership between Sportradar and the AFC was signed in 2013. The extended deal was signed on January 11 in Doha and showcases the two organizations’ desire to protect the professional soccer sector from fraud.

According to the announcement, the extended deal will see Sportradar continue to work on integrity matters for the AFC, helping the league tackle a variety of problems, such as game manipulation. To that end, Sportradar will leverage its robust technological capabilities and will put some of its latest AI and machine learning-based solutions to use.

The extension of the deal between Sportradar and the AFC came just in time for the start of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. The event kicks off on January 12 and will run through February 10, featuring 24 of Asia’s top teams.

A United Front Against Fraud

The extended agreement was welcomed by representatives of both companies. AFC’s president, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, commented on the matter, praising Sportradar’s invaluable help in cracking down on match manipulation in Asian soccer. He also thanked Sportradar for being a reliable partner of the AFC for the past decade and helping it combat match-fixing in Asia.

Since 2013, our collaboration has necessarily evolved strategically to consistently safeguard the integrity of football in Asia, while the AFC has forged a stronger relationship with Sportradar in the process.

Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, president, AFC

Carsten Koerl, Sportradar’s chief executive officer, also expressed his thoughts on the extended deal, saying that the success of the partnership with the AFC truly attests to the power of unity when it comes to protecting AFC matches from fraud.

Koerl added that the breakthroughs in technology allow his team to face the challenges presented by fraudsters, allowing it to safeguard the integrity of competitions across the world.

We acknowledge the role of technology in sports and recognize its potential to address these challenges. Our capabilities will evolve by exploring new technological frontiers, including AI and machine learning, to mitigate issues such as corruption in sports.

Carsten Koerl, CEO, Sportradar

Speaking of technology, Sportradar recently joined forces with Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), a joint venture of ATP and ATP Media. Under the deal, the two parties will work on new tennis betting tech.