World Footy News

Woodside Energy, one of Australia’s major energy exporters to Asia, has agreed to become a major sponsor of the Australian Football League’s first ever match in China. Woodside will be an associate partner of the Kaspersky Cup, AFL Shanghai Showdown between Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions, which will be played at the Jiangwan Sports Centre in Shanghai on Sunday, October 17.

Woodside Senior Vice President, Corporate, Tina Thomas, said the match provided an ideal opportunity to showcase the company’s support for Australian football in one of its major customer countries. Since 2006 Woodside has been exporting liquefied natural gas to China from the North West Shelf Venture under a 25-year contract.

The company, which has an office in Beijing, is in discussions with Chinese customers about potential supplies from Woodside’s wider portfolio of projects and developments.
Ms Thomas said Woodside’s interests in China and Australian football provided a strong incentive to support the match.

“Woodside is already a major sponsor of the Fremantle Football Club and we welcome this opportunity to extend our support for Australian football in one of our key markets,” Ms Thomas said.

“We are a proud Australian company and we strongly support Australian culture and sport, which we think has international appeal.”

AFL General Manager National and International Development David Matthews thanked Woodside for its support for this landmark event for Australian football.

“The AFL Shanghai Showdown is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Australian football on the international stage and develop our code internationally,” Mr Matthews said.

The AFL recently signed an agreement to broadcast AFL matches live into Shanghai, including the AFL Shanghai Showdown. In 2010 it also introduced a development program in schools in Shanghai.

The stadium at the Jiangwan Sports Centre in Yangpu District has a capacity of up to 10,000 spectators. The game coincides with the city’s six month World Expo, at which Australia has a significant presence.

Australian football contributes $3.4 billion annually to the Australian economy, with 7 million people attending AFL matches each year.

There are more than 733,000 registered participants across Australia and 53,000 players across 38 senior leagues around the world.