Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall men in a single bound, look, up in the sky, it’s AFL footy. In what is bigger than any religion Down Under, AFL Football is making a surprise inroad in the world’s most populous country, leaving major codes like the NFL for dead. 2010 saw China play host to Australia’s biggest sporting code as the Melbourne Demons played the Brisbane Lions in what became a thrilling encounter in Shanghai. What eventuated was a landmark TV deal, an online AFL Chinese community, 7100 Chinese spectators and a commitment from the local Shanghai government to support further games.
All this delivered by a sport relatively unknown to most parts around the world. Yet if you ask any Australian what is the most entertaining and thrilling sport, most would enthusiastically say: “Why AFL of course.”
Although the game has limited participation potential in Mainland China, the exercise created a major ‘bridging cultures’ exercise. The AFL, having the foresight to see beyond immediate ‘tangible’ benefits, are now reaping a flurry of Chinese media and community exposure both in Australia and the mainland. If at all the objective was to get AFL footy (as they call it) on the map with the Australia-Chinese community, then it certainly delivered on that front. Although having to host it in China, the vision to develop the online Chinese-AFL website driven by Chinese social media, housing a plethora of Chinese content designed to educate and promote footy, was a major step forward.
Talent and broadcast opportunities are obvious outcomes with bridging this culture divide. By taking the first step towards what we can assume will be a 100+ year relationship, the AFL has shown the Chinese community they are serious about engaging with them, both locally on a grass roots educational level and in terms greater cultural integration; going to the footy on a weekend is a great past time which everyone can enjoy.
So what next for the AFL? Only time will tell yet a legacy has been left with mainland Chinese fans finding it difficult to ignore as 2011 sees a live AFL game on free to air TV for each of the 22 home and away season rounds. Back in Australia, ‘footy’ is everywhere and it’s difficult to engage with any mainstream media without learning about the week’s footy news. Perhaps now as the league builds on what became “The Year AFL Went To China,” this growing power may take notice of what could be. Who knows, we could have a Chinese AFL star sooner than we think.
A short video of the press covering the landmark AFL game can be seen here.
> Mailman was responsible for the ffective online community build. For more information how Mailman connected AFL with Chinese consumers contact us.