AFL coming to Shanghai in June
The 2019 Australian Football League will land in Shanghai in June, featuring St Kilda and Port Adelaide, organizers announced on Monday.
The clash, one of the Round 11 matches of this year's elite Australian rules football competition, has been scheduled for June 2 at Jiangwan Stadium in Yangpu District.
It will be the third straight year that the AFL will hold a regular-season game in Shanghai, which is also the league's only overseas match in the Northern Hemisphere.
It will also be Port Adelaide Football Club's third visit to Shanghai. As the oldest professional sporting club in South Australia, the club has raised the championship trophy 37 times since its first game in 1870.
Port Adelaide's opponent St Kilda is a Melbourne-based club with a 146-year history — only three years fewer than Port Adelaide. St Kilda won its single premiership in the 1966 VFL Grand Final.
As the most popular sport in Australia, Australian rules football has been attracting near 6 million spectators to matches in the country every year, and was introduced to Chinese sports followers two years ago.
According to organizers, the previous two Shanghai games attracted a large number of expats and loyal Australian fans who followed their teams to China.
Interactive games and AFL-themed activities will be arranged at the fan zone at Jiangwan Stadium on match day this year to present local spectators with Australian sports culture.
Those interested can log on to www.jusstickets.com or dial 86-21-962123 for tickets.
It will be Port Adelaide's third visit to Shanghai, with the team taking on St Kilda in the AFL match at Jiangwan Stadium in Yangpu District on June 2.
