SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sportradar has been selected as the official video and data distribution partner to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in an eight-year agreement running from 2021 to 2028.
The global data and video rights deal, which was negotiated by Football Marketing Asia (FMA), will see Sportradar collect and distribute audio-visual content and match-related data from AFC national team tournaments and club competitions.
Sportradar CEO, Carsten Koerl, said: “We are proud to partner with the AFC in this watershed moment for Asian football.
“With the importance of Asia, we believe that this agreement is a strategic opportunity that will provide Sportradar further leverage in the region with a sport that is growing exponentially in terms of participation and viewership.
“This puts us in an unrivalled position that will showcase a wider range of services we have to offer to engage more sports rights holders in the region.”
The agreement covers major events such as the 2023 Asian Cup, hosted by China, and annual AFC Champions League over two separate cycles; 2021 to 2024 and 2025 to 2028.
The AFC and Sportradar’s long-running association began in 2013, and the two parties renewed their integrity agreement in January last year, with AFC stating that since partnering with Sportradar it had seen a 21% decrease in match-fixing incidents across Asia.
“We welcome Sportradar as our official video and data distribution partner,” AFC General Secretary, Dato’ Windsor John, commented. “The agreement will bring AFC football closer to an ever-growing international fanbase and consumers.”
Sportradar has taken over the contract from Stats Perform which acted as the AFC’s official data provider during the 2017/20 cycle.
