The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today reaffirmed its commitment to being a global leader in sport integrity by extending its partnership with Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD), a leading global sports technology company.
Running from 2024 through to 2027, the renewal will take the collaboration between both parties, which first began in 2013, to 14 years.
This latest milestone was marked by an agreement signing ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton in Doha on Thursday afternoon, 11 January, between AFC President, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Sportradar CEO, Carsten Koerl on the eve of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™.
AFC President Shaikh Salman said: “For the past 10 years, Sportradar has been a valued, reliable and trusted partner of the AFC, and together we have stood tall to combat the scourge of 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.
“We are proud of what has been accomplished so far but we cannot be complacent and together, we will continue the fight to keep our beautiful game clean for the benefit and enjoyment of our loyal and passionate fans.”
AFC General Counsel & Director of Legal Affairs Andrew Colin Mercer said: “The renewal of the agreement with Sportradar underlines the AFC’s commitment to tackling integrity challenges in Asian football. We have forged a formidable partnership in intelligence gathering and investigation, which underpins our commitment to eradicating ethical misconduct and upholding the highest standards of good governance.”
Sportradar CEO Carsten Koerl said: “The success of this partnership is a true testament to the power of collaboration and a unified vision to safeguard the integrity of AFC competitions. We acknowledge the role of technology in sports and recognise 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 sport.”
