Frequently asked questions.
What Athena is, how we work and what makes us different.
What is a Virtual Integrity Unit?
An external integrity function, built around your sport’s needs. We can support your existing team or act as your integrity unit on retainer, giving you access to specialist expertise without maintaining a full in-house investigations team.
What kinds of matters do you handle?
Match-fixing, doping, abuse, corruption, participant misconduct and governance concerns. We also assess integrity risks involving people, partnerships and commercial relationships.
Can you handle a case from start to finish?
Yes. We can take a case from initial assessment and investigative strategy through evidence gathering, interviews, findings and recommendations. Where a case proceeds to disciplinary action, our expert practitioner network provides specialist legal advice, prosecution and advocacy.
Can you work alongside our integrity team?
We work across the full range of sports integrity matter types, including doping and anti-doping matters, betting and match manipulation concerns, safeguarding allegations, governance failures, participant misconduct and broader integrity risk assessments.
If you are unsure whether a matter falls within our scope, contact us. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right resource.
What makes Athena independent?
Our business is dedicated to integrity in sport. We have no commercial relationships with betting operators or sports data providers, avoiding the conflicts those relationships can create. We also assess conflicts before accepting each engagement.
How do you use AI?
Our investigators use aiTHENA, our proprietary investigative infrastructure, to support assessment, analysis and case planning. Every AI output is reviewed by our practitioners, who remain responsible for all decisions and recommendations.
How are engagements structured?
We offer annual retainers for ongoing support and per-matter engagements for defined pieces of work. We agree the scope, capacity and fees with you before work begins.
Can you help with an urgent matter?
Get in touch and tell us how quickly you need support. We’ll assess the expertise and availability required, confirm whether we can help and agree the next steps.
What should we share in an initial enquiry?
Your contact details and a brief outline of the support you need. Please leave out names, evidence and sensitive case details. We’ll arrange an appropriate secure channel before discussing those.