AFA to Stream with Genius Sports
International sports content provider Genius Sports Limited has been selected as the Official Data & Streaming partner for all Argentine Football Association (“AFA”) events. This exclusive partnership fuses AFA, South America’s oldest soccer association, with a cutting-edge technology company to bring quality sports streaming to Argentine soccer.
International sports content provider Genius Sports Limited has been selected as the Official Data & Streaming partner for all Argentine Football Association (“AFA”) events. ©Cristian Tarzi/Unsplash
Genius Sports is uniquely situated to drive fan engagement by helping sports organizations such as AFA to collect and share data about games and players. The company has already worked in this capacity with many important federations and competitions, such as the PGA Tour, the National Collegiate Athletics Association and NASCAR. Their partnership with AFA has been long-anticipated.
“As a leading global soccer federation, one of AFA’s key objectives is to generate new revenue streams by unlocking the value of its digital assets through new strategic partnerships. As part of this process, we are extending the reach of our brand across new markets and growing our corporate partnerships. Today, we are very happy to announce this strategic alliance with Genius Sports, the leading sports technology company that trusts in our association and vision and will help equip us for a digital future. We are convinced that this partnership will be critical to expanding the visibility of Argentine soccer across the world and also opens up a range of new commercial possibilities.”– Claudio Tapia, President of the Argentine Football Association, talking to Genius Sports
Streaming for AFA Competitions
AFA is not only a prestigious South American association, but one of the most respected throughout the world. As the governing body of Argentine soccer they organize 3,300 games each season, including 13 competitions, like the Liga Profesional de Fútbol, Primera D. AFA is also responsible for Argentina’s Olympic soccer teams.
Genius Sports is therefore responsible for capturing and distributing a large number of events, both for AFA data collection and for live broadcasts. Genius Sports is also dedicated to “integrity services”; live broadcasts will also be available for licensed sportsbooks.
Genius Sports’ role is not only to capture games, but also to support AFA in a new strategy to increase fan outreach. The company works as a connector for all facets of sports media, providing content and partnerships for interested brands and broadcasters to create bespoke and engaging messaging for AFA’s target audiences.
To further the goal of connection between AFA and new fans globally, Genius Sports plans to install GeniusLive+ cameras at more than 100 AFA-associated venues. These cameras are specially designed to capture high-resolution footage for live-streaming purposes. Fellow experts Pixellot and La Corte will work together to produce these broadcasts, resulting in 2,000 additional streamed games each season.
“The Argentine Football Association is one of the most respected and prestigious organizations in world soccer. Being selected by them for such a vital partnership that combines our expertise across live data, streaming, production and media is a huge honor and further validation of Genius Sports’ outstanding credentials and strategy.”– Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports, talking to Genius Sports
Genius Sports’ Wide Reach
Genius Sports formed in 2016 and is now headquartered in London, England, though it operates worldwide to capture and distribute live sports games for a variety of partners. It currently works closely with more than 400 sports organizations, including the world’s most recognized federations like NFL, NCAA, NASCAR, PGA, and now AFA.
Its technology and expertise in the field of sports broadcasting grew quickly and is now implemented in more than 150 countries. The company is not only a technology provider but also interested in supporting sports organizations in digitalization and digital outreach, to maximize fan engagement and inspire interest from new fans. The company also recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Genius Sports is also known as an “integrity partner” to fellow soccer associations Dimayor Colombia, the English Premier League and the German Football Association. Its work helps safeguard games and fans from match-fixing and betting-related corruption. For this purpose, Genius Sports has a “Bet Monitoring System” which provides 24/7 protection. Its algorithms input and compare betting information from all over the world to note suspicious activity and prevent betting fraud.
In recent news, the Swedish company Betsson secured a similar partnership as a sponsor for the CONMEBOL Copa America 2021 football tournament, which has been relocated from Argentina to Brazil due to concerns about Covid 19.
