DAVID Koch wants to play footy in China, and if one major hurdle can be overcome, it could happen as soon as 2017.
The Port Adelaide chairman, fresh from announcing the club's first profit since 2007, spoke broadly about the Power's ambitions to engage Earth's most populated nation for corporate and cultural opportunities.
But it's the possibility of playing a pre-season match in China that will pique the interest of Power fans most.
"China is a big focus, from a commercial point-of-view, we've made big commitments there already," Koch said.
"[But] we would love to do that in the NAB Cup 2017, to play a game in China."
The hurdle standing in the way of Port Adelaide playing a pre-season game in China is the quality of stadia available.
At present, there are no oval-shaped venues large enough to accommodate a match, with cricket and Australian football still sporting curiosities in China.
But Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas believes if a suitable arrangement can be found, the Power will be flying out to play an exhibition match against another AFL opponent in the not-too-distant future.
"The AFL is really open to that idea [of playing a pre-season game in China]," Thomas said.
"The issue is grounds - infrastructure - we need to do a little bit more work, but that gate is open if we're able to set it up the right way.
"Because [Australian] football is not a core activity in China, getting the grounds right is the biggest issue, but we think that's overcomeable."
Port's China footprint
The Power has worked steadily for two years to build a footprint in China, with a number of initiatives to engage the Hong Kong and South China regions.
A reciprocal membership agreement with the Hong Kong Football Club was followed by Port sponsoring the local Australian football league and China's national AFL team, which competes in the AFL International Cup and other Asian tournaments.
Matt White and Ollie Wines model the Power's 'China' multicultural guernsey earlier in 2015 [pic: portadelaidefc.com.au]
Recently, the Power's Aboriginal AFL Academy travelled to China on a cultural exchange trip.
"We sponsor the national Chinese (AFL) team, we sponsor the Southern China AFL competition, Auskick we sponsor up there, we have business lunches right through Hong Kong [and] we're expanding those into other capital cities over the next couple of months," Koch said.
"And what an amazing opportunity for the young men of our Aboriginal AFL Academy to travel to China on a cultural exchange trip, when many of them have never left South Australia."
Port Adelaide also engages the local Chinese community on social media and with a range of initiatives in Australia, including wearing the Chinese flag on its AFL Multicultural Round guernsey earlier this year, and recording Power games with Mandarin commentary.
