Victorian Government wants Melbourne club in future AFL fixtures in China

The Victorian Government is pushing for a Melbourne-based club to be part of any future AFL Premiership fixtures in China.

With the AFL's second regular season fixture between Gold Coast Suns and Port Adelaide Power to be played in Shanghai today, the AFL will review the game after its completion.

AFL General Manager of China and India, Dave Stevenson, has said a game will continue in China for the "foreseeable future" but it is unclear whether the two clubs currently involved will continue.

As reported by AFL.com.au, the League will consult Gold Coast and Port Adelaide first before speaking to other interested clubs about potentially playing in Shanghai.

Victorian Trade Minister Philip Dalidakis, told AFL.com.au that the Victorian Government was already in discussions with the AFL about bringing a Victorian team to China in 2018.

Minister Dalidakis advised "we want to see a Victorian team play here in China.

"The Victorian government will always take every opportunity to put our people and our businesses at the forefront of opportunities like this one.

"We have shown that we want to partner with the AFL in so many areas so I think you can look forward to some very fruitful discussions moving forward. 

"We think it’s a great opportunity to use it and push forward with our international exports but also with our people relationships. That’s what AFL’s been so good at for so many years, bringing people together and celebrating diversity, and not being fearful of our differences.

"We think Victoria proudly is the most progressive part of the country and we’d like to see it and use it as a way to push forward in so many areas."

Looking to tap into the growing interest in sport among China's population of 1.3 billion people, Minister Dalidakis added "one per cent of them are just starting to follow AFL so that’s half of Australia’s population, so you can see that we can make massive inroads.

"We can also use sport as a way for sporting diplomacy and other opportunities for businesses as well."

Port Adelaide Chief Executive Keith Thomas told News Corp on Thursday that the club was keen to play multiple games a year in China and even suggested the idea of hosting a night game, provided it could find about $1 million to upgrade the lighting at the 12,000 capacity Jiangwan Stadium.

Thomas advised "we’d like to throw it on the table - back-to-back games that keeps us creative on how we present Australian football overseas.

"Right now, I am wondering is one game a year enough to make our case in China. It would be a significant statement to the Chinese market if we played two matches a year - and spent more time here in schools, developing coaches and building cultural relationships between Australia and China."

Image: The 12,000 capacity Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai.

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