Love of the Game: Chinese football fans counting down to Asian Cup
BRISBANE’S Chinese community is counting the days until football’s Asian Cup starts, writes BERNIE PRAMBERG.
NO ONE needs reminding soccer is truly the world game.
In less than two weeks, the all-encompassing global reach of football will come close to home when the AFC Asian Cup kicks off in Australia.
Asian Cup 2015 will be easily the biggest football event of any code ever staged in Australia.
Sixteen countries will play 32 matches over 23 days in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Canberra.
Brisbane football fans can forget Lang Park or Suncorp Stadium for most of January. The Asian Cup’s seven matches at Queensland’s premier footy venue will be contested at Brisbane Stadium with Suncorp renamed because of commercial agreements.
A priority for organisers has been community engagement and the Chinese community of southeast Queensland plan to be out in force during the opening week.
“China play their first game in Brisbane and then play again four days later,’’ said Michael Ma, secretary-general of the Queensland United Chinese Council. “We will have a block of about 3000 seats in one section of the stadium for Chinese supporters at both matches.”
Ma, an official AFC Asian Cup ambassador, says younger members of the community will provide plenty of colour, noise, enthusiasm and fun at China’s matches against Saudi Arabia (January 10) and Uzbekistan (January 14).
“We will have a section of around 500 young people, mainly students, who are very big football fans. They will be dressed in the Chinese colours and will be very vocal.
“The rest of the seats will be taken by local Chinese people or visiting supporters.
“We want to provide support to China in the tournament but also help to show the world that Brisbane is a wonderful city.’’
China’s team and entourage will arrive in Queensland four days before their opening match and train once at Brisbane Stadium with other sessions at Perry Park.
Ma met with team officials in China six months ago and discussed the possibility of members of the local Chinese community attending training sessions.
“We would like to show our support at training but it may not be possible. It will depend on team officials and we do not want to disrupt their preparations in any way.’’
China’s 23-man squad includes the reigning Asian player-of-the-year Zheng Zhi, a fine midfielder who has had stints with Charlton Athletic and Celtic.
Ma admits the Asian Cup has reignited an interest in football which waned after he came to Australia as a young student.
“I used to follow soccer in China but our national team wasn’t so good in those days,’’ he said. “I came to Australia as a poor student when I was 15 and concentrated on other things at the time.
“I did not know anybody here and older members of the Chinese community befriended and helped me. They were very kind.
“When I asked what I could do to repay their kindness they told me to go out and help others in the community. That is how I became involved with my volunteer job with the Queensland Chinese United Council.
“We conduct community, cultural and sporting programs including the Brisbane Chinese Festival. One of our priorities is strengthening relationships between the Chinese and Australian communities.’’
Ma regards football, and specifically the Asian Cup, as a conduit to further relationships.
“A love of football is shared by millions of people worldwide and can break down barriers,” he said.
China has never won the Asian Cup which has been contested since 1956, but finished runners-up in 1984 and 2004.
On the Saturday morning of the G20 summit, the inner-city streets of Brisbane were almost deserted except for police and a colourful presence by members of the Chinese community.
Waving flags and dressed in national colours, the large group gathered outside the
Stamford Plaza to greet the exiting motorcade of Chinese President Xi Jinping. They remained in the CBD to cheer other motorcades, including US President Barack Obama, as they passed.
Brisbane will host a blockbuster Asian Cup weekend featuring the Australia v South Korea clash on January 17. The game is believed to be the biggest pre-seller of the tournament so far.
On the previous night, Japan will meet Iraq in another game expected to attract significant interest and a big crowd.
The top-five countries going into the Asian Cup according to FIFA’s latest world rankings are Iran, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan with United Arab Emirates and Iraq on equal points.
The Asian Cup is pivotal for the Socceroos who are languishing in 100th place on FIFA’s rankings after slumping from within the top 30 just three years ago.
Originally published as Love of the Game: Chinese football fans counting down to Asian Cup
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