"The club has taken a big step to try to grow interest and awareness,"Port says."Everyone will be really interested to take a look in six to 12 months'time on the impact it's made."
Port Adelaide chairman David Koch lured a group of Chinese businessmen to a game in Adelaide in 2015.Credit:Getty Images
Koch,who became chairman of the 146-year-old club when it was close to bankruptcy in 2012,says he initially found little support for his idea to seek financial salvation from China.
The strategy began four years ago with business lunches for Australian expatriates in Hong Kong and Shanghai with former players.
It later grew with sponsorship of an Australian rules league in southern China,as well as the national team which plays in a biennial competition against other countries.
An early breakthrough came in 2015,when Koch lured a group of Chinese businessmen to a game in Adelaide. One of the attendees was Shanghai CRED Real Estate Stock founder and billionaire Gui Guojie,who enjoyed the sport and supported hosting a match in his home city.
Gui,a member of the Communist Party,subsequently became a major sponsor of Port Adelaide through Shanghai CRED.
His company partnered with Australia's richest person,iron ore magnate Gina Rinehart,last year to buy a minority stake in iconic cattle station S. Kidman&Co,whose properties span about 1.3 per cent of Australia's total land area. Shanghai CRED was part of an earlier Chinese-led bid that was rebuffed by the Australian government on the grounds of"national interest".
Another boost came last year,when state broadcaster CCTV started televising Port Adelaide matches. Initially attracting only 500,000 viewers,by the end of 2016,audience figures had swelled to as many as 3 million.
Most-watched game?
Koch predicts that Sunday's match in front of 10,500 spectators will be viewed by as many as 20 million people - making it by far the most-watched game of Australian rules played.
"I am sure there will be fans of this great sport in China,"Li said at the game in Sydney in March,Fox Sports reported. The Chinese Premier was adorned with scarfs in the black,white and teal colours of Port Adelaide as well as the red and white of their opponents,the Sydney Swans,supported by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The value of the television broadcasts in China can't be underplayed,according to Nielsen Sports. FC Internazionale and AC Milan are among the top three most popular soccer clubs in China,largely because Italy's Serie A was the first European league to broadcast in the nation.
There are"significant commercial opportunities"at stake,Port says.
"For Chinese companies that are expanding outside of mainland China into Australia and the Pacific,the ability to relate and communicate through AFL is obvious,"he says."It allows relations to be developed through Chinese companies operating in Australia and for another connection with the Australian government and trade."
Right now,Port Adelaide's management is focusing on Sunday's game and how it can build a support base in China.
"The key financial metric is to build revenue streams not tied to on-field performance,which can be volatile,"Koch says."It's about respect,a willingness to understand cultural differences,and showing you're here for the long term,not just as a flash-in-the-pan money grab."
Bloomberg