Asia Football Group

What Asia Football Group does

Asia Football Group FZ-LLC (AFG) is a Dubai-headquartered commercial entity that operates as the designated commercial partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), responsible for delivering the AFC's commercial programme across Asia and beyond. The company monetizes a portfolio of 13 AFC competitions — including the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, AFC Women's Champions League, the men's and women's Asian Cups at senior, U23, U20, and U17 levels, the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, and the Asian Qualifiers — collectively covering more than 1,500 matches and reaching a stated 2 billion fans worldwide. AFG's offering is structured as two enterprise product lines: Brand Partnerships, which designs tailored sponsorship and marketing solutions for global brands leveraging football's appeal, and Media Partnerships, which licenses AFC competition rights to broadcasters and streaming platforms across multiple territories. The business generates revenue through sponsorship arrangement facilitation and media rights licensing/commissions on enterprise-level, quote-based contracts.

AFG operates from four regional offices — Dubai (UAE, headquarters at Dubai Media City), Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beirut — covering the Middle East, Greater China, Southeast Asia, and the Levant. Headcount stands at 139 employees as of the most recent disclosure, and the company is privately held with no public ticker, no disclosed funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue. The go-to-market is relationship-driven enterprise sales targeting two customer segments: Brand Partners (global brands seeking football marketing reach) and Media Partners (broadcasters and streamers seeking premium Asian football content). Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales with no self-service or marketplace channels, supplemented by a corporate website (asiafg.com) and a LinkedIn presence for top-of-funnel visibility. No proprietary technology platform, AI capability, or mobile product is described.

Name

Asia Football Group

Legal name

Asia Football Group FZ-LLC

Website

https://asiafootballgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Asia Football Group is the designated commercial partner of the Asian Football Confederation, monetizing brand sponsorships and media rights across 13 AFC competitions (1,500+ matches, 2 billion fans) for global brand partners and media companies via offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beirut.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Media Rights and Sponsorship Services

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114), Media Representatives (54184)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Rights Agencies & Brokers (Acquisition/Packaging) (MPABAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Association Football (Soccer) Leagues (MPAKAAAA), International Sports Broadcasters & Rights Networks (MPABAJAE)

Keywords

• Sports media rights
• Brand partnership services
• Football sponsorship marketing
• Media rights licensing
• Sports commercial partnerships

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Partnership Services: The company creates tailored brand partnership solutions leveraging football's global appeal and advanced marketing strategies to elevate brands and reach audiences worldwide. Revenue likely derives from partnership fees, sponsorship arrangement facilitation, and marketing service contracts with brands.
2. Media Rights and Partnerships: AFC competition rights offer access to over 1,500 matches, engaging 2 billion fans worldwide. The company facilitates media partnerships and likely earns revenue through rights fees, licensing arrangements, and commission on media deals with broadcast and streaming partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Asia Football Group operates as the exclusive commercial partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), delivering tailored brand partnership solutions and facilitating media rights for AFC competitions. The company provides access to over 1,500 matches annually across a portfolio of prestigious tournaments, reaching approximately 2 billion football fans across Asia and beyond. AFG commercializes rights for competitions including the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, AFC Women's Champions League, AFC Asian Cup, and various youth and futsal tournaments.

Product overview

Asia Football Group operates as a commercial programme administrator for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), offering two core product lines: Brand Partnerships (tailored brand solutions leveraging football's global appeal) and Media Partnerships (rights to over 1,500 AFC competition matches reaching 2 billion fans). The company commercializes a portfolio of competition rights including the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, AFC Women's Champions League, AFC Asian Cup, AFC Women's Asian Cup, AFC U23/U20/U17 Asian Cups (men's and women's), AFC Futsal Asian Cup, and Asian Qualifiers. The offerings are structured as a platform-plus-rights portfolio, enabling brand and media partners to access AFC football properties across Asia and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Partnerships

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to 2 billion football fans through AFC competition media rights
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Asian Football Confederation (AFC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsia Football Group serves as the commercial partner supporting the Asian Football Confederation to deliver its commercial programme across Asia and beyond. The company leverages AFC competition rights including access to over 1,500 matches and 2 billion fans. AFG provides brand partnership solutions and media partnership facilitation for AFC competitions including the AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two, AFC Women's Champions League, Asian Cup, and various youth tournaments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Wasserman: Wasserman is a global sports marketing and talent management firm offering consulting, sponsorship, and rights services. Its football and sponsorship consulting groups overlap meaningfully with AFG's brand partnership offering.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports marketing agency with strong football sponsorship and consulting practices, part of IPG Mediabrands. It competes with AFG for sponsorship deals and brand partnership mandates in Asia and globally.
• IMG (Endeavor): IMG is the world's largest sports and entertainment marketing agency, handling media rights, sponsorships, and event management for major federations and leagues. It is the most direct global benchmark for AFG's commercial-partnership business model, particularly in football where IMG has historically held major federation mandates.
• CSM Sport & Entertainment (Dentsu): CSM is a global sports marketing and communications agency within Dentsu, offering sponsorship consulting, athlete management, and event services. It competes with AFG for brand partnership and sponsorship mandates across Asia.
• CAA Sports (TPG): CAA Sports is the sports division of Creative Artists Agency, providing athlete representation, brand consulting, and rights sales. Its rights sales and sponsorship consulting arms are highly comparable to AFG's partnership business.

Others

• DAZN: DAZN is a global sports streaming platform that is an increasingly active acquirer of football media rights. While not a rights-agency competitor, it is a key buyer of rights AFG would commercialize and represents a structural shift in the rights-buyer landscape.

Direct peers

• Infront Sports & Media: Infront is a leading international sports marketing company specializing in media rights, sponsorship, and event management, with deep football federation expertise. It is directly comparable as a sports rights agency that commercializes federation properties for global brands and broadcasters.
• Sportfive: Sportfive is a global sports marketing agency focused on media rights, sponsorship, and digital activation across football and other sports. Its federation-rights model mirrors AFG's AFC mandate structure and is one of the closest direct comparables in commercial partnership scope.
• Relevent Sports Group: Relevent Sports is a sports marketing and media company focused on football, managing rights distribution, sponsorship, and event commercialization. Its football-specific rights business directly overlaps with AFG's sponsorship and media rights activities.

Regional players

• Football Marketing Asia (former AFC partner): Football Marketing Asia previously held AFC commercial partnership responsibilities before AFG's appointment. Although no longer active in the same role, it serves as the historical precedent and functional comparator for AFC-exclusive commercial mandates in the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asia-football-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Asia Football Group