AFC to launch Integrity Education Programme to combat corruption

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Image Credit: Shutterstock - Markara

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is set to launch the AFC Integrity Education Programme 2025, a brand-new world-class initiative designed to boost AFC Member Associations’ (MAs) ability to fight match fixing across Asia.

Set to launch on March 10, the programme is designed to bolster the capabilities of Integrity Officers throughout the Confederation’s MAs across a six-month long course.

The initiative was built in coordination with Sportsrader, a Swiss sports data company, and aims to provide programme participants with the knowledge to train upcoming officials within their respective organisations to effectively combat corruption and uphold professional footballing standards.

The AFC Integrity Education Programme 2025 will feature seven online sessions, educating participants on key issues such as match-fixing, sports betting, social media and digital integrity, prevention measures, the misuse of inside information and the consequences of breaching integrity standards.

After the online courses, the programme will finish with an in-person assessment for participants to receive their certificate.

AFC General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs, Andrew Mercer, underlined how important the course would be for Asian football.

“It is our foremost priority to ensure that the Confederation’s competitions conform to the highest ethical standards,” he said in a press release.

“We remain resolute in our quest to safeguard the integrity of Asian football, and the AFC Integrity Education Programme will play a significant role in aiding our Integrity Officers by providing tailored support to uphold the principles of good governance.”

Sportradar Executive Vice President of Integrity, Rights Protection and Regulatory Services, Andreas Krannich, expressed Sportsradar’s willingness to aid the AFC.

“We are pleased to support this significant educational initiative,” he said via press release.

“The programme combines Sportradar’s expertise in sports integrity with the AFC’s commitment to good governance, creating a framework for developing the skills of integrity officers across Asia. This collaborative approach represents a crucial step in safeguarding football in the region.”

The AFC integrity Education Programme 2025 will begin March 10 2025. For more information on the programme, contact integrity@the-afc.com.

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Victory unites with Roasting Warehouse in culture-led partnership

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Image credit: Melbourne Victory

The Melbourne-based anf family-owned business will join the Victory family, uniting two institutions which represent the city’s culture and identity.

A partnership with local roots

As the newest partner of Melbourne Victory, Roasting Warehouse joins forces with a vital part of the city’s sporting landscape.

The club’s Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, outlined why the partnership bears so much value to both parties.

“We are excited to collaborate with Roasting Warehouse, a community-oriented destination for high-quality coffee, proud of its foundations in Melbourne,” said Carnegie via official media release.

“Football and coffee sit at the epicentre of Melbourne’s culture. The two go hand-in-hand, consistently at the centre of the conversation that stirs Melburnians, which is no different to the conversation sport and Melbourne Victory stir in the State.”

Indeed, this is a partnership which combines the identity, passions and culture of an entire city, therefore giving it the foundations required for long-term, mutual success.

Representing the best of Melbourne

Both Victory and Roasting Warehouse are hugely successful in their respective industries. They are institutions with community-oriented philosphies, who pride themselves on craft and quality.

“We’re incredibly proud to partner with Melbourne Victory, a club that represents the heart, passion, and ambition of Melbourne,” revealed Roasting Warehouse Head of Brand, Alexander Paraskevopoulos.

“As a Melbourne-founded, family-run business, supporting a team that means so much to the local community feels very natural for us.”

Furthermore, through their high-quality blends, Roasting Warehouse will look to prepare Victory’s players and staff for high performances on the pitch as the seasons nears completion.

But this is about far more than just fueling athletes.

This is a partnership which embodies and unites two of Melbourne’s greatest strengths and cultural markers – a connection forged from the city’s very own DNA.

 

For more information about Roasting Warehouse, click here.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

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Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

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