Sportradar has signed an extension to its long-term integrity partnership with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The renewed integrity contract runs from 2024 to 2027. This extends the partnership between Sportradar and the AFC, which began in 2013, to 14 years.
Sportradar will continue to work with the AFC on a wide range of integrity issues. This includes a concerted effort to combat problems such as match-fixing in Asian football.
Additionally, Sportradar said it would use new technologies to further improve integrity in Asian football. These include artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The extension was agreed yesterday evening (January 11) on the eve of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
AFC welcomes the “strategic” development of the Sportradar relationship
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa welcomed the contract extension. He said the partnership had already helped curb match-fixing in football across Asia.
“For 10 years, Sportradar has been a valued, reliable and trusted partner of the AFC and together we have stepped up to combat the scourge of match-fixing in Asia.
“Since 2013, our collaboration has necessarily evolved strategically to consistently protect the integrity of football in Asia, while the AFC has built a stronger relationship with Sportradar in the process,” Shaikh Salman said.
Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl added: “The success of this partnership is a true testament to the power of collaboration and a shared vision to protect the integrity of the AFC competitions.”
“We recognize the role of technology in sport and its potential to address these challenges. Our capabilities will continue to evolve as we explore new technological frontiers, including AI and machine learning, to curb issues such as corruption in sport.”