Jiangsu Suning officials had no idea Port Adelaide and Gold Coast are playing an AFL match in Shanghai

THE blank faces perhaps told the entire story.Jiangsu Suning boss Choi Yong-soo and midfielder Xiaobin Zhang looked perplexed when asked if they would follow the first AFL clash for points in China on the weekend.

Steve Ciobo, MP (left) and AFL general manager of football operations Mark Evans are ready for the big game.

THE blank faces perhaps told the entire story.

Jiangsu Suning boss Choi Yong-soo and midfielder Xiaobin Zhang looked perplexed when asked if they would follow the first AFL clash for points in China at the weekend.

Port Adelaide hosting the Gold Coast Suns in Shanghai didn’t register a mention from Jiangsu’s duo with the club’s media officer asking if the game being played was in fact rugby.

The clash is a sellout at Shanghai’s Jiangwan Stadium, attracting 10,000 fans on Sunday.

“They play (AFL) in Shanghai?’’ said Jiangsu’s media officer.

“Australian football? You mean rugby?”

Choi and Zhang are in Adelaide preparing for the AFC Champions League clash against Adelaide United at Hindmarsh on Tuesday night with the match to be televised live to TV audiences in China, Thailand, Cambodia, the Middle East, South East Asia on the Fox network, Uzbekistan, India and Australia on Fox Sports.

China’s PPTV will broadcast the Reds and Jiangsu match to a live audience.

The company is the largest online TV service in China with more than 260 million users.

The Port Adelaide and Suns clash will not be shown on live TV in China after reports last year suggested China’s CCTV was going to beam the match to a new audience as it happened.

Originally published as Jiangsu Suning officials had no idea Port Adelaide and Gold Coast are playing an AFL match in Shanghai