Independent integrity support, delivered as an external extension of a sports organisation's integrity capability.
Athena Integrity helps sports organisations handle allegations, investigations and integrity risks to a defensible standard. We give you additional integrity officers without the cost or fixed footprint of building a full internal unit.
Every allegation creates a decision point. Ignore it. Overreact to it. Or assess it properly, document the reasoning and act on a defensible basis. Athena exists to make the third option practical.
Integrity risk is no longer just a disciplinary problem. Poorly handled allegations can damage reputation, weaken trust, unsettle sponsors and broadcasters, deter investment and threaten the commercial viability of a sport.
At the same time, case volumes are rising, allegations are becoming more complex and decisions are facing greater legal, regulatory and public scrutiny.
Yet many sports bodies are expected to manage that pressure with limited capacity, narrow specialist depth and no easy way to scale when demand spikes.
Many integrity units are under-resourced relative to their case load. Matters queue, drift or close without enough scrutiny. By the time capacity becomes available, evidence may be weaker, risk may be higher and the sport may already be exposed.
Internal teams can lack the specialist investigative, intelligence, legal, safeguarding or anti-corruption expertise needed to handle complex or sensitive matter types.
Subjective, tunnel-visioned investigations are vulnerable to challenge and ultimately fail. Some matters require distance from internal politics, relationships or perceived bias.
Flawed investigation strategies struggle to withstand legal and regulatory scrutiny. Weak processes, poor records or unclear decisions create exposure when challenged later. Case decisions need to be fair, proportionate and properly reasoned.
Athena is an operational Virtual Integrity Unit that plugs into a sports organisation when the risk requires it — either extending an existing integrity function or acting as a unit for organisations without one.
We work with sports to assess allegations, plan investigations, lead investigations, review intelligence, support case governance and produce decision-ready reports.
Athena is supported by aiTHENA, our proprietary AI investigative infrastructure. It helps us assess matters faster, apply structured investigative thinking and identify lines of enquiry that may otherwise be missed, reducing time and cost without removing expert human judgement.
Athena is an operational integrity unit that activates when the risk requires it — not a permanent overhead.
We triage and assess allegations, plan and lead investigations, review intelligence, support case governance and produce decision-ready reports.
Athena can extend an existing integrity function or act as the unit for organisations without one.
Our engagements are scoped, governed and documented to withstand legal, regulatory and reputational scrutiny.
Working alongside internal integrity functions to extend capacity, raise capability standards and support units facing case volume or complexity they cannot manage alone.
Handling sensitive matters where objectivity, discretion and specialist expertise are essential. Delivered to a standard that withstands legal and regulatory scrutiny.
Providing clear direction on how to approach a matter properly, proportionately and efficiently – before resource is committed and before positions are taken.
Applying structured assessment frameworks to determine the credibility, severity and priority of a concern – and producing a clear, defensible recommendation for next steps.
Identifying integrity risks before they become integrity problems – assessing individuals, partnerships and commercial relationships that may expose a sport to reputational or regulatory harm.
Revisiting historical or unresolved matters with fresh capacity, current techniques and independent perspective – to determine what, if anything, can now be progressed.
Senior-level counsel on integrity strategy for sports leaders, federations and boards weighing strategic decisions on integrity posture, structure or response.
Connecting with existing whistleblower and reporting channels to turn incoming concerns into actionable intelligence - through reliable intake, secure handling and clear escalation pathways.
aiTHENA is Athena's proprietary investigative infrastructure. It is used by our expert human investigators. It is not software for sale and not a client-facing platform.
Senior practitioners lead every engagement. aiTHENA supports them by speeding up assessment, improving investigative strategy, applying consistent standards and helping identify lines of enquiry that may otherwise be missed.
Experienced human judgement remains responsible for all decisions and recommendations.
Reduces time lost to manual review, research, drafting and case organisation.
Supports structured planning, opportunity identification and consistency across matter types.
Helps assess information across match-fixing, doping, safeguarding and wider integrity risks.
Every output is reviewed and controlled by Athena's practitioners. The technology supports the work. It does not own the judgement.
When a matter raises questions of capacity, complexity or independence, Athena helps sports organisations assess the risk, choose the right path and act on a defensible basis.
You don't need a finished brief to start. You need somewhere to take the conversation.
The first call is exploratory and confidential. If Athena isn't the right answer, we will tell you.
Athena Integrity was founded by Nick Raudenski and Affy Sheikh — two senior practitioners from sports integrity, investigations, intelligence and law enforcement.
Athena works only on integrity in sport. We do not operate in the betting or sports data sectors. That gives clients a cleaner independence position when a matter is sensitive, contested or high-risk.
Nick Raudenski is a Co-Founder of Athena Integrity and a senior sports integrity, intelligence and investigations practitioner.
A former criminal investigator with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Nick has held senior integrity roles across FIFA, UEFA, the International Testing Agency and the UCI. His work has covered corruption, match-fixing, anti-doping, technological fraud, intelligence collection, regulatory development and the investigation of complex integrity matters. Nick also teaches on sports corruption and integrity programmes, helping train practitioners in the investigation of complex sports integrity cases.
At Athena, Nick helps lead the Virtual Integrity Unit model, bringing deep operational experience in independent investigations, with a focus on the development of aiTHENA as Athena's proprietary investigative infrastructure.
Affy Sheikh is a Co-Founder of Athena Integrity and a senior sports integrity, intelligence and investigations professional.
He previously built and led Starlizard's sports integrity division, partnering with sports governing bodies and law enforcement agencies worldwide in the fight against match-fixing, working some of sport's most prominent cases. Before moving into sports integrity, Affy served for twelve years in UK law enforcement and government, including roles with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (now the National Crime Agency) and the Metropolitan Police, as well as diplomatic service overseas.
At Athena, Affy brings deep experience in intelligence, investigations and betting-related integrity risk, with a focus on helping sports organisations address pain points and make better integrity decisions.
Initial discussions are short, confidential and without obligation. If a matter is sensitive, we will agree an appropriate secure channel before any detail is shared.
"*" indicates required fields
