Genius Sports Group has confirmed that it has become the exclusive live data and integrity partner of football’s official governing body in Argentina.
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) will now benefit from Genius having exclusive rights to capture official live game data from all of the governing body’s 13 competitions. Those competitions include the Liga Profesional de Fútbol and Primera B Nacional.
All of the data captured in stadiums will then be distributed to sports betting operators all over the globe by Genius.
Another feature of the deal is that the Bet Monitoring System used by Genius will be used to keep an eye on any suspected incidents of match-fixing or other betting related corruption that may occur in any football competitions in Argentina.
AFA president Claudio Tapia was delighted about the deal and highlighted how important it was in helping the governing body grow its revenue streams and expand its global audience. He was also pleased with the way that the agreement can protect the integrity of Argentine football competitions when it comes to betting irregularities.
“It was equally important to retain a partner that could provide vital protection from any betting-related threats so that Argentinian soccer fans can enjoy games that are fair, transparent and unpredictable,” he said.
Genius chief commercial officer Jack Davison was also very pleased with the new relationship. He said:
“Argentinian soccer gains a fair and transparent return from betting on its competitions and a platform to expand its global reach. Our sportsbook partners will be provided with more premium content from some of the most competitive leagues in world soccer.”
The AFA is the oldest football governing body in South America and the eighth-oldest in the world. It was the first South American football governing body to join FIFA, which it did in 1912. Argentina has also been one of the more successful nations in South American football, with the national team winning a host of honours.
Those honours include the World Cup in 1978, when the nation hosted the tournament, and in 1986. The latter moment of glory was marked by the supreme performances of the country’s, and possibly the world’s, greatest ever player, Diego Maradona.
Argentina were also runners up in the World Cups of 1930, 1990, and 2014. The nation has also won the Olympic gold medal for football in 2004 and 2008, as well as the silver medal in 1928 and 1996. They have been champions of South America 14 times.
The deal with the AFA marks a busy period for Genius, with the company also having extended its relationship with the National Basketball Association in the United States recently. That deal consists of a non-exclusive betting data partnership.
Genius will also soon go public on the New York Stock Exchange, thanks to a reverse merger deal with special purpose acquisition company dMY Technology Group. This partnership is set to create a new publicly traded business that has an enterprise value of $1.5 billion.
