The following story originally appeared on Frederick's Blog and the original article can be found here.  This is very timely given the first match for Premiership points will be played in Shanghai this Sunday.

As one of the biggest media markets in Asia, China has long been a target for Aussie rules as authorities look to spread the sport abroad to new nations. Given the large Chinese population and their well-established enthusiasm for many different sports, they would seem to have a fertile ground for a grassroots footy following.

China has embraced footy at a breakneck pace, as the first recorded game of Aussie rules was played only 13 years ago. The Beijing Bombers – a team made up of Aussie ex-pats in the Chinese capital – were established in 2004. They eventually grew a big-enough audience to help kickstart a local competition with three other teams in the Beijing area.

AFL Asia has previewed Anzac Day Commemoration activities and Matches taking place over the coming days and Anzac Day. For a full wrap and match times see www.afl-asia.com  

There is no doubt Anzac commemorative games are now a massive part of the Aussie rules footy landscape, but no more so than in Asia where the connection to the people and places effected by the wars of the past are so strong.

This weekend once again will see a number of AFL Asia’s Clubs host commemorative matches right across the Asian region, with the AFL Asia Anzac Round of matches getting bigger and better every year.

Port Adelaide’s historic first AFL game for premiership points in China has sold out.

Remaining tickets went on sale on Thursday afternoon at 2.00pm, and were sold within the first hour.

With 24 days to go before the historic first bounce on Sunday 14 May at Shanghai’s Jiangwan Stadium, the successful sale of all tickets gives the club great momentum heading into the ground-breaking game.

Australian Rules football has been growing impressively across India for a number of years now, driven in no small way by the drive and foresight of many people, most notably Sudip Chakraborty who was able to get the game accepted in states across India. Most commonly this saw small localised one-off tournaments or larger national events – almost all of which were singular annual events.

The first national tournament, the Indian National Championship Of Australian Football, run under the guise of AFL India was held in Calicut (Kerala state) in 2012, then Goa in 2013, Mumbai in 2014, Kolkata in 2015 and again in 2016. These were the foundation blocks for which localised competitions could potentially grow.

The Port Adelaide Football Club is delighted to welcome Premier Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, to its first match of the season on Saturday.

As part of the his state visit, Premier Li will, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, attend Port Adelaide’s AFL Opening Round game against the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Saturday afternoon.

It follows an announcement by Prime Minister Turnbull in Shanghai during April 2016 of Port Adelaide’s intention to play a game for premiership points in Shanghai. That game will take place on May 14 against the Gold Coast Suns.

Gold Coast SUNS CEO Andrew Travis today welcomed Tourism Australia’s partnership of the SUN’S game against Port Adelaide to be played in Shanghai in May.

In its fourth year of operations, AFL Asia has further strengthened its ability to achieve its mandate of “growing footy in Asia” with the confirmation of its strongest committee to date, following a solid turnout at the recent Annual General Meeting.

After a two-year term as AFL Asia Vice President, former Vietnam Swan and China Red/Beijing Bomber Grant Keys will become AFL Asia’s third President, following Darren Whitfield’s decision to step back in 2017 due to work and family commitments.

Darren’s advocacy of local player development has left a massive mark on footy in Asia. His leadership has ensured the record number of locals now playing the game across the region is being fully supported by Asian footy’s governing body through new initiatives such as the All Asia Championship and local player quotas-to be introduced at this year’s Asian Championships.

 

The 5th instalment of the ARFAI National Championship has been held in Howrah Maidan, Kolkata at the Sailen Manna Stadium. The event boasted 12 teams across two divisions, with the best 200 players from across the nation representing seven Indian states.

With VFL/AFL legend, Kevin Sheedy, on hand to promote the game in India and mingle with the excited players and personnel at the event, last weekend’s tournament was a huge success.

The AFL India Facebook page stated, “What an amazing three days at the AFL India carnival - the ARFAI National Championship 2017 - the 5th edition.”

“The Jharkhand Crows - Australian Football won both the titles for both junior and senior divisions in style.”

Late last year the ABC reported about a young girl in Toowoomba who was taking Australian Rules football by storm, and in the process taking apart cultural and gender stereotypes to be an amazing role model and inspiration for all young, aspiring football players. Here is the story of Zimra, as reported by Allyson Horn for the www.abc.net.au website.

Ten-year-old Afghan refugee Zimra Hussain is tearing up football fields across south-east Queensland, her hijab flying in the wind.

Zimra and her family are part of the Hazara, a group heavily persecuted in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

They arrived in Australia in 2014.

She played her first game of football less than a year ago, as a new resident of Toowoomba on the state's Darling Downs.

 

Nick Bowen from the www.afl.com.au website reports that Essendon’s legendary coach has taken the initiative to push for his club to pursue an AFL match in India. With former head of football in India, Sudip Chakraborty, now at the club, there is a real possibility that the club could link with another to bring a match to the nation sooner rather than later.

KEVIN Sheedy will lead a contingent of Essendon officials to India as the Bombers seek to tap into the growing Indian community around the club and, longer term, eye hosting an AFL game on the subcontinent.

The Bombers' party will fly to Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, where they will attend the Indian AFL national championships, after which Sheedy will select the team that will represent India at the International Cup in Melbourne from August 5.