The AFL and Port Adelaide Football Club are one step closer to playing an AFL game for premiership points in China after both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding this morning in Shanghai with Shanghai Cred Real Estate.

The historic signing was witnessed by the Prime Minister of Australia the Honourable Malcolm Turnbull in his first act in China as Prime Minister.

As part of the Memorandum of Understanding all parties will use reasonable endeavours to play an AFL match, in which Port Adelaide is a one of the participating teams, for premiership points in Shanghai during the 2017 AFL season.

The Port Adelaide Football Club and the world’s largest television network, China Central Television (CCTV) have reached a landmark agreement to broadcast AFL throughout China.

The agreement will see Port Adelaide’s upcoming home games against Essendon in Round 3 and Geelong in Round 5 broadcast on CCTV, with the latter to be televised live.

AFL Asia has announced that Australian Football Coaching Courses will be held in Singapore and Vung Tau, Vietnam on the weekend prior to Anzac Day, 2016.

AFL Asia Media Release:

Thanks to the support of the AFL and in conjunction with the Vietnam Swans and Singapore Sharks and Wombats, AFL Asia is delighted to make available Level 1 Coaching Courses in Singapore on Saturday 23 April and in Vung Tau, Vietnam on Sunday 24 April.

The courses will be conducted by Wally Gallio, High Performance Manager for AFL Northern Territory and NT Thunder. Wally is an AFL High Performance (Level 3) accredited coach and the courses will be open to all levels of senior and Auskick coaches across Asia, free of charge.

Port Adelaide's Chinese International recruit, Chen Shaoliang has suffered a serious injury during training with the Port Adelaide Magpies this week.

The 23-year old Team China captain, damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while being tackled at his second only training session with the Magpies.
"While the injury will sideline Chen for 12 months," said Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas, "Chen will remain in Adelaide and he will be immersed in our club for the next two years."

 

"Power Invests in China" Port Adelaide Power has this week signed its first Chinese born recruit, Team China captain Chen Shaoliang, 23, on an International Scholarship for the club's academy at Alberton, South Australia.

Chen Shaoliang arrived on Tuesday 15th March, to join the Port Adelaide Magpies (Port Adelaide Powers' reserves side that plays in the SANFL) and is expected to be selected to play in the next couple of months.

He joins Croatian International, Josip Habljak (at Sturt) in attempting to break in to footy at SANFL level in season 2016. Ultimately he hopes to become an AFL listed rookie. He expects to become a trailblazer in the untapped Chinese market while playing football in the SANFL and studying English at UniSA in Adelaide.

Women Debut In South China AFL

South China Australian Rules Football League (SCAFL) welcomed their first female players in the recent Round#2 tournament in Macau on the weekend.

Played at the Macau International School two ladies played for the first time in this competition, one as a guest and the other very likely to become a regular player.

The first of the two ladies playing on the day was Jess Cole from Melbourne Australia, (more of her story later).

The 2016 AFL Asia season got underway in Yangon City, Myanmar.

After a hard fought game with scores tied at half time the visiting Jakarta Bintangs out lasted the hosts the Myanmar Fighting Cocks by a score of 63-53 yesterday in the inaugural Cocks Plate Contest, held on the “Hen House” pitch at Star City.

Despite a raucous crowd chanting tai kyet – or “Fighting cocks!” – for most of the game, the home team faltered in the fourth quarter, giving way in their own end to allow three goals in the last 15 minutes.

The Jakarta team started fast and scored in the opening minute after Myanmar’s All-Asia ruckman Conor Smith was outjumped by a much smaller, local Indonesian player. But the Cocks battled back with two goals from the ageless wonder Julian Clark, whose sticky hands enabled him to mark two kicks. At halftime, the sides were level, 5-3-33 to 5-3-33.

The following is a snippet from the AFL Japan website.

AFL Scholarship Player Shoki Mukotaka from Senshu Powers Club flew from Narita Airport on 25th February to Melbourne to practice and train with Box Hill North Football Club. He will 'live' and train at the club for three weeks until 18th March.

The scholarship program also has the players homestay with members of the club so as to experience life in Australia.

"In Australia stay is homestay in the house of team-mate, has become a program that also experience life in Australia."

The AFL Japan Scholarship has run for a number of years now and several Samurai players previously participated in the Scholarship.

Genki Tanaka being one such scholarship holder who spent a season in Melbourne playing at Box Hill North also studying English and acquiring AFL qualifications and accreditations in coaching and umpiring.

Sohei Yoshida also spent five weeks at Box Hill North prior to the 2014 International Cup.

Back in December 2015 it was reported that four Borneo Bears National players had been invited to join the Darwin Waratah’s to train and play in the 2015-2016 NTFL season.

"One of the major highlights for 2015 which was organized and championed by Bears President Tommy Commerford and Bears Coach Shane Kruger, was a cross country AFL development agreement between the Borneo Bears and the Darwin Waratah’s".

Today in the NT News we see how this experiment has progressed, "WARATAH’S bold experiment to bring four Borneo-born footballers to the Top End paid dividends yesterday when utility Timbul Kukuh Santoso played his first league game. The 22-year-old “Borneo Express’’ roamed between half forward and half back, producing a 12 possession game that showed he is comfortable at that level."