Kuala Lumpur, Feb 17 (IANS): The extensive integrity action plan and key stakeholder collaboration implemented to combat the threat of match fixing during the 2015 Asian Cup was successful, with no evidence of game manipulation uncovered at the tournament, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement Tuesday.

The tournament was played in five venues across Australia from Jan 9-31. Australia emerged as the champion of the tournament for the first time.

The AFC said planning and co-operation between the AFC and its key partners, including the Australian government and Football Federation Australia was pivotal in pro-actively upholding the integrity of the competition.

"It is extremely encouraging to see that the detailed integrity planning and collaboration for our premier tournament, the AFC Asian Cup, was a success," Alex Soosay, general secretary, AFC said in a release.

"This would not have been possible without the support and focused efforts of each stakeholder and in particular Australian law enforcement and betting monitoring service provider Sportradar, who worked hand-in-hand with AFC’s Integrity Unit throughout the tournament."

"The effective implementation of this action plan could be a blueprint for other Asian sporting events and sports governing bodies. Continued efforts will be made to ensure a similar outcome for future AFC competitions. Upholding the integrity of all our competitions remains a key priority for AFC."

The AFC Integrity Action Plan for the tournament comprised several core elements, including awareness-raising of players, team officials and match officials before the event and detailed and technologically advanced monitoring of global betting markets.