PORT ADELAIDE welcomes today’s AFL fixture announcement confirming the club will play a premiership season game in Shanghai in 2018.

At a media conference on the iconic Montefiore Hill overlooking Adelaide Oval and the Adelaide city district, AFL General Manager Clubs and Broadcasting Travis Auld confirmed Port Adelaide will play the Gold Coast Suns in Shanghai next year on Saturday afternoon 19 May in a timeslot to be confirmed by the AFL next week.

In a further boost to the game the South Australian State Government today announced naming rights for the fixture at Jiangwan Stadium with the ground now officially called Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium.

Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas, who was joined at today’s announcement by Mr Auld, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, Shanghai Cred founder Mr Gui Guojie and Gold Coast Suns chief executive Mark Evans, said he was delighted with today’s fixture announcement.

“Today’s announcement that we will again be playing a game for premiership points in Shanghai next year is a significant result for Port Adelaide and the AFL,” said Mr Thomas.

“We have always said that we need to maintain a consistent presence in China for AFL to succeed and playing an annual premiership season game in Shanghai is obviously a key to that outcome.

“In May this year the game was a sell out with more than 5,000 South Australians travelling to Shanghai for the game. This year we are looking to increase the ground capacity by a couple of thousand to accommodate the increased demand we expect following the success of this year’s inaugural game.”

Mr Thomas said the club was also pleased with the timeslot of the fixture.

“Pulling together an AFL fixture is a very complicated process and we thank the AFL for managing our needs to play the game in May before the weather in Shanghai becomes a factor in June,” said Mr Thomas.

“And to play the game on a Saturday afternoon enables both clubs to have an eight-day break before the next round which is important given the travel requirements.”

The Saturday afternoon timeslot means the game will be broadcast live nationally into Australia on the Fox Sports network, and live on the Ch 7 free-to-air network into the South Australian and Queensland markets.

“We thank Fox Sports in advance for their television broadcast support back into Australia. Significantly, this timeslot also allows Chinese mainland television networks to broadcast the game live as a direct lead in to their very popular Saturday night Chinese Super League soccer broadcast which is a massive boost to Port Adelaide, our corporate partners and the AFL,” said Mr Thomas.

“This year’s game was one of the most watched game in AFL history and we look forward to building on that audience again in 2018.”

Mr Thomas also welcomed the ongoing support of Shanghai Cred founder Mr Gui Guojie, along with the backing from the South Australian State Government.

“Mr Gui has shared our vision for China from day one and has been with us lockstep all the way,” said Mr Thomas.

“Mr Gui is a great visionary and he understands the unlimited potential the AFL can enjoy in China for decades to come. He sees no boundaries in what can be achieved and recognises the opportunities that exist for sports diplomacy and cultural exchange between Australia and China. We thank him for his generous support to ensure we can take our game to Shanghai again.

“Similarly, we thank the South Australian State Government for their ongoing support. To be playing on Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium, our home away from home, will be special and again its bringing two cities and two cultures together which is at the heart of our strategy.”

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says today’s announcement will provide further great exposure to South Australia.

“Port Adelaide’s historic AFL match in China this year was an incredible success which exceeded everyone’s expectations,” said Mr Weatherill.

“This year’s game enjoyed one of the biggest television audiences in AFL history, delivering valuable exposure for South Australia, with the State brand highly visible around the ground.

“Next year, we’re going one better with the ground to be re-named Adelaide Arena at Jiangwan Stadium, providing even more exposure for our State.”

Shanghai Cred founder Mr Gui Guojie was also proud to be associated again with bringing AFL to China.

“It is our common dream to promote the Australian football culture to China,” said Mr Guojie.

“On May 14^th 2017, 11,000 football supporters from China and Australia together witnessed the first ever AFL premiership game outside of Australia and New Zealand, and the game has gained unexpected positive outcomes.

“And for the first time, Australian football became the topic discussed between the Australian Prime Minister and the Chinese Premier.

“We felt so proud of this. We acknowledge that to successfully lead Australian football culture into China, there will be various difficulties and challenges.

“But we have got teams here who are pumped up with courage and enthusiasm to handle challenges with innovative executions.

“Today, we are ready to commence the 2018 Shanghai game journey and Shanghai CRED will spare no effort to work with the AFL, Port Adelaide and Gold Coast Suns, to make the Shanghai game even better.

“We believe we can take the powerful and passionate sport of Australian Football to further leverage a broader exchange and collaboration between bi-lateral culture, education, economy and trade, and bring people from the two countries closer.”

There are four approved travel partners for the Shanghai 2018 game - AFL Travel, RAA Travel, Tee Lee Travel and Phil Hoffman Travel.

All information on ticketing and travel packages for the game can be found at www.shanghai2018.com.au