The extensive integrity action plan and key stakeholder collaboration implemented to combat the threat of match-fixing during the AFC Asian Cup 2015 was highly successful, with no evidence of match-manipulation uncovered at the tournament. The planning and cooperation between the AFC and its key partners, including the Australian Government and law enforcement authorities, Football Federation Australia, the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015 Local Organising Committee and betting monitoring service provider Sportradar, was pivotal in proactively upholding the integrity of the tournament.
AFC General Secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay said: "It is extremely encouraging to see that the detailed integrity planning and collaboration for our premier tournament, the AFC Asian Cup, was a success. This would not have been possible without the support and focused efforts of each stakeholder and in particular Australian law enforcement and Sportradar, who worked hand-in hand with AFC’s Integrity Unit throughout the tournament."
"The effective implementation of this action plan could be a blue-print for other Asian sporting events and sports governing bodies. Continued efforts will be made to ensure a similar outcome for future AFC competitions. Upholding the integrity of all our competitions remains a key priority for AFC."
Football Federation Australia CEO David Gallop said: "FFA takes the issue of match-fixing very seriously and as part of its integrity strategy has been working closely with law enforcement and Sportradar over recent years.
"FFA welcomed the AFC’s proactive approach which demonstrates that planning, information exchange and cooperation among all stakeholders are critical to combating match-fixing. The Asian Cup overall was a great success for football in Australia and the Asian region with record crowds and TV audiences. The integrity of such major tournaments is integral to the popularity and growth of football."
Sportradar Managing Director Strategy and Integrity Andreas Krannich said: "Sportradar highly commends the pro-activeness and levels of integrity planning and cooperation shown by the AFC, FFA and law enforcement authorities in Australia for the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.
"We are proud to have played a key role in upholding the integrity of such a successful event and the Integrity Action Plan implemented for the tournament shows the effectiveness and importance of sports rights-holders, law enforcement authorities and credible betting monitoring service providers such as Sportradar working closely together to combat the threat of match-fixing."
The AFC Integrity Action Plan for the tournament was made up of several core elements, including awareness-raising and training of players, team officials and match officials before the event and detailed and technologically advanced monitoring of global betting markets through Sportradar’s Fraud Detection System. Other key components of the strategy were suspicious-activity reporting through AFC’s confidential reporting mechanism and utilisation of the Australian Crime Stoppers program. In addition, collaborative incident response procedures between AFC and the Australian law enforcement authorities were established and tested, with unprecedented levels of cooperation and mutual support.
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