Independent News and Views from the International Aussie Rules Community

Welcome to World Footy News Monday, December 23 2024 @ 11:02 pm ACDT

Hong Kong kids in Adelaide

  • Saturday, July 12 2014 @ 10:15 pm ACST
  • Contributed by:
  • Views: 2,203
Asia

The following article appeared on the AustraliaPlus.com website earlier this week.

Australian football is played widely overseas with international participation estimated at more than 100,000 participants. There are clubs and links with the game all over the world. In Hong Kong, the local team the Hong Kong Dragons was established 24 years ago. It currently has a membership base of 50-60 players participating in the South China Australian Football League and the AFL junior AusKick program. AusKick, the AFL's development program is popular with both boy and girls both in Australia and abroad.

The half-time AusKicker game, where AusKick associations are invited to play on AFL grounds during senior matches is a traditional part of the spectacle and an unforgettable experience for all involved.

 

 At the Port Adelaide versus Essendon game on Saturday  July 5,  45 chldren aged between 4 and 14 years and their parents travelled from Hong Kong to Adelaide to take part. The junior players wore jumpers from their four  local Hong Kong teams as well as Hong Kong Dragons and Port Adelaide strips. 


Chairman of the Port Adelaide Football Club - David Koch says the club has been building links with China for some time and regularly invites Chinese students who are studying locally in Adelaide to experience Port Adelaide games at Adelaide "Links like this are not only important culturally for Chinese students studying here in Adelaide but also (important) commercially as well," says David.  :There is an increasingly large Chinese business community here in Adelaide and also Chinese based businesses having operations here. The Port Adelaide joint major sponsor - Energy Australia is owned by Hong Kong based CLP Group. so 'Port Power' and 'China Power' - it's an alignment made in heaven!"
 
The rest of the original story can be read at the following link - Hong Kong kids have a ball on Adelaide's field of dreams