Paul Starick: Pressure on Port Adelaide and AFL to make swift decision on annual Shanghai clash
Now the Chinese Grand Prix has been put on hold, it’s time for Port Adelaide and the AFL to tell fans what's going on with the club’s annual Shanghai clash, writes chief reporter Paul Starick.
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The Chinese Grand Prix’s postponement this morning heightens pressure on Port Adelaide and the AFL to swiftly let fans know what's going on with the club’s annual Shanghai clash, scheduled just weeks after the aborted car race.
Formula One released a statement this morning, saying the Shanghai Grand Prix scheduled for April 17-19 had been postponed, at the request of the Chinese promoter, amid continued health concerns in the wake of the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus a global health emergency.
This followed talks with the Federation of Automobile and Motorcycle Sports of People's Republic of China (CAMF), Shanghai Administration of Sports and F1’s governing body, the FIA.
It was “jointly decided to accept the postponement request in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans”.
Port Adelaide’s clash with St Kilda in Shanghai is scheduled for May 31, six weeks after April 17.
Just yesterday, Port coach Ken Hinkley declared the club would take a “no health risk’’ approach to its China game, insisting players and staff would not board the plane if there was any risk of contracting the deadly coronavirus.
Hinkley said a decision to stage a game there, or replace it with a match in Melbourne, was still “four to six’’ weeks away. He insisted club officials, including chief executive Keith Thomas, were “managing it and they are doing a great job”.
Given the crowd for the annual Shanghai clash mostly comprises expatriates – Port fans from South Australia and around the world – there will now be some pressure for a swift decision, either way.
Port, understandably, wants to leave open every chance of playing in Shanghai, to ensure the money-spinner is a regular event and to continue to build a foothold in the potentially lucrative Chinese market.
But there is considerable alarm about travel, particularly to China, because of the coronavirus. This is an evolving situation and there is no firm indication, as yet, that the virus has peaked.
In fact, China Southern yesterday suspended until at least June direct flights between Adelaide and mainland China – part of a worldwide slashing of routes around the world operated by the airline.
The AFL’s official carrier, Virgin Australia, earlier this month ended services to Hong Kong, partly because of the coronavirus outbreak, while Qantas has suspended direct flights to mainland China until March 29.
Even though the Port-St Kilda Shanghai clash is not until May 31, AFL fans deserve some clarity about whether the game is going ahead before they shell out hard-earned cash – if they can book an airline ticket to China in the first place.
Waiting four to six weeks for such clarity would be too long.