The Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s resolve to protect and safeguard the beautiful game in Asia was further underlined today through the signing of a four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).

Moving forward, the AFC and IBIA will work closely to detect irregular betting patterns and suspicious activities in football matches across Asia. IBIA, through its Monitoring and Alert Platform, will share real-time data on suspicious betting activity with the AFC, further enhancing the AFC’s abilities to promptly investigate potential match manipulation.

The AFC General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs, Mr. Andrew Mercer said: “The AFC’s Vision and Mission has outlined our steadfast ambitions to uphold the highest ethical and sporting standards, and we are committed towards preserving our key tenets of fair play and integrity.

“Leveraging on strong collaborations with the world’s leading organisations is imperative to our fight against match-fixing and this MoU with IBIA further strengthens our ability to ensure football in Asia remains clean for the benefit of our future generation of fans, players and all our valued stakeholders.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “Cooperation is a vital part of any effective integrity monitoring and investigatory framework and IBIA is delighted to be able to strengthen its relationship with the AFC through this important information sharing collaboration. For its part, IBIA will seek to safeguard the AFC ecosystem by utilising the monitoring of its members’ global customer account activity, which covers over $300bn in sports betting per annum.”

Mr. Mercer, added: “The AFC is committed to promoting integrity, ethics, and fair play in Asian football and we are pleased to work with IBIA as we strive to enhance our capabilities to monitor and address suspicious activities, ensuring that football in Asia is safeguarded from the threats of match manipulation.”

The MoU between the AFC and IBIA marks a significant step forward in the fight against match-fixing in Asian football with both organisations dedicated to creating a secure environment for the sport, fostering trust amongst fans, players and all stakeholders.

SuperGaming, India’s leading game development studio, has officially announced the launch date of its highly anticipated Made-in-India-for-the-world battle royale, Indus. Set to release on October 16th, Indus will be available for download on both Android and iOS platforms, via the Google Play Store and iOS App Store respectively offering players an exciting new battle royale experience.

After recently entering open beta, mass testing amongst players across the world coupled with their invaluable feedback has been instrumental in shaping the game’s development. The immensely successful beta phase attracted players into the action-packed world of Indus, building significant momentum ahead of its release. With over 12.5 million pre-registrations on Android alone, Indus is ready to deliver a fresh, thrilling & immersive battle royale experience, setting the stage for one of the biggest game launches out of India this year.

Speaking on the announcement of the much-anticipated launch, Roby John, Co-founder and CEO of SuperGaming, said, “With the launch of Indus, we’re not just introducing a game—we’re presenting a unique take on the battle royale genre to the world. Our vision with Indus has always been to showcase Indian Art and Culture through unique characters, weapons and stories rooted in Indian heritage while also bringing our dual win condition with Cosmium and a never done before “Grudge” feature to a popular game genre. The overwhelming support from our community during the beta phase has helped us fine-tune key aspects of Indus, and we’re excited for the world to experience Indus and see what the SuperGaming team has built”

Alongside the release date announcement, SuperGaming has also unveiled an epic cinematic trailer. It offers an exciting look where players engage in high-stakes combat across a vast and dynamic battleground.

Centered around Adi, the trailer highlights his journey within the world of Virlok. As the leader of his squad, Adi enters Virlok with two goals: to collect the rare resource Cosmium and to settle a personal score with his nemesis, Pokhran. Viewers can witness Adi’s evolution—starting from a novice, training and sharpening his skills, and culminating in an epic showdown where he finally takes down Pokhran, settling his grudge.

Indus brings a fresh twist to the battle royale genre with its dual victory condition. Players can win by either being the last person standing or by strategically collecting Cosmium which spawn in the last circle of Nirvana, adding a new layer of complexity and depth to traditional gameplay.

The trailer also offers a sneak peek into the dynamics of Cosmium collection and Grudge, a unique in-game feature that allows players to settle scores with their opponents. Additionally, the Grudge system allows players to track down and face off against the opponents who defeated them.

Skyesports, a premier global IP and community builder for gaming and esports, and Realme have wrapped up the Realme Campus Gaming League, a national collegiate esports tournament.

The Grand Finals took place at the SIGMA Auditorium, Sri Sairaam Engineering College, Chennai, and witnessed the top 16 college teams from across India compete in Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) to crown the champions.

Galactic Wolves emerged victorious, securing the title and taking home INR 200,000 from the event’s total prize pool of INR 400,000. The fight went down to the penultimate game, where Galactic Wolves secured a first-place finish to climb to the top of the overall standings.

The Realme Campus Gaming League was launched with a mission to empower college students across India and provide them with a platform to showcase their esports talents in BGMI. The tournament attracted record participation, with more than 2,700 teams from over 200 colleges nationwide vying for a spot in the Grand Finals. To ensure the representation of local talent, Skyesports also organized a local qualifier at the Sri Sairaam Engineering College, with two teams earning their place in the Finals.

Adding to the excitement, renowned gaming personalities Jonathan Gaming and Jelly graced the Grand Finals, interacting with participants and sharing valuable feedback. Jonathan Gaming, fresh from his third-place finish in the BGMI Pro Series (BMPS) 2024 with GodLIke Esports in Kochi, inspired the young competitors with his insights and experience.

Commenting on the tournament, Shiva Nandy, Founder and CEO of Skyesports, said, “Partnering with Realme for the Campus Gaming League has been an incredible experience, as they share our commitment to developing grassroots esports. This tournament was not only a thrilling spectacle for esports fans, but it also offered a platform for college students across India to showcase their talent. The high participation highlights the immense potential at the grassroots level and underscores the importance of fostering and nurturing this talent for the future of Indian esports.”

A Realme spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to support the burgeoning collegiate esports scene in India through the Realme Campus Gaming League. At the LAN Finals in Chennai, players competed in the Realme 13+ 5G which proved to be a formidable device for esports players and casual gamers alike. The event saw over 10,000 participants and garnered more than 250,000 views on social media, showcasing the immense interest and engagement in esports at the grassroots level.”

The Realme Campus Gaming League has set a new benchmark for collegiate esports in India, further cementing Skyesports’ and Realme’s commitment to supporting esports at all levels.