AFL moves its China game from Shanghai to Sydney, to be played on Cheng Lei’s birthday

The AFL has played its annual China game in Sydney instead of Shanghai, part of a trend of Australian businesses rethinking how to engage.

The AFL has played its centrepiece annual China game in Sydney instead of Shanghai on Saturday evening, part of a trend of Australian businesses rethinking how to engage with our biggest trading partner in an era of heightened risk.

But even leaving China hasn’t eliminated all complications for Australia’s richest sporting code.

#China’s Ambassador to #Australia Xiao Qian tosses the coin to get the game underway. pic.twitter.com/pfJm1sDrj3

— Stephen McDonell (@StephenMcDonell) June 24, 2023

The Weekend Australian can reveal the AFL was unaware until Friday that the debut instalment of its new marquee game — intended to celebrate the 1.4m members of Australia’s Chinese-heritage population — is being held on the birthday of imprisoned Australian journalist Cheng Lei.

She turns 48 on Saturday, the day of the AFL’s “China-themed” game at the SCG between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles. It will be the third birthday the Richmond fan will spend in a Beijing prison cell instead of with her young children.

“Birthdays and these kinds of occasions are particularly difficult for Lei and her children and parents,” her partner Nick Coyle told The Weekend Australian.

“It’s a reminder that, really, she needs to be home with her family and her children as quickly as possible. We urge the authorities to make that happen,” said Mr Coyle, who has left Beijing where he used to be the CEO of China-Australia Chamber of Commerce.

Sydney Swans players Oliver Florent, Tom McCartin, Joel Amartey, Braeden Campbell, Nick Blakey, James Rowbottom, Logan McDonald and Chad Warner. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The AFL’s Shanghai game divided the code. It was held for three years starting in 2017, following a partnership between Port Adelaide and Chinese property tycoon Gui Guojie.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch declined to comment on the future of the Shanghai game, which was put on hold in 2020 because of Covid-19. But sources familiar with the thinking of the AFL Commission said it was not coming back.

“Categorically, the Shanghai experiment is dead,” one told The Weekend Australian.

Saturday’s game at the SCG is being held on the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, called “Duanwu Jie” in Mandarin.

“To combine Duanwu festival with an AFL match is a wonderful demonstration of the multicultural characteristics of Australia,” China’s Ambassador Xiao Qian told The Weekend Australian.

Detained Australian-Chinese journalist Cheng Lei.

“I would like to express my high appreciation, and I am fully confident that the event will not only further enhance Australian people’s understanding of Chinese traditional culture, but also greatly promote Chinese people’s appreciation of Australian culture, especially the most popular sport in Australia, the footy,” the Chinese ambassador said.

Richard Colless, former chairman of the Swans, has been the fixture’s biggest champion. He said it grew from his concerns about Chinese-Australians feeling disengaged from the broader community as the bilateral political relationship imploded.

“At the risk of sounding a bit goody-two-shoes, that was the catalyst,” Mr Colless told The Weekend Australian.

Some Googling led him to research by Dr Rob Hess, a leading historian of the origins of Australian rules football, which documented the mostly forgotten Chinese participation in the sport back in Victoria’s 19th century gold rush.

“The Chinese were a significant element in the formative stages of the game. This is an extraordinary story,” Mr Colless said.

St Kilda’s Callum Wilkie and former Port Adelaide player Patrick Ryder competing at the Jiangwan Stadium, Shanghai, in 2019. Picture: AFL Media

The AFL commissioned a book by Patrick Skene, which builds on Dr Hess’s research. Called “Celestial Footy”, it was supported with a grant from the Australian government’s National Foundation for Australia-China Relations and was launched on Friday night at the Swans HQ.

Mr Colless spoke about the AFL’s Chinese backstory over dinner with Ambassador Xiao last week in China’s Embassy in Canberra on the night the Socceroos played Argentina in Beijing.

“I think he sees sport as a fundamental part of a city, or a region, or a country’s culture. I was really taken with his enthusiasm and support for this,” Mr Colless said.

Ambassador Xiao is a guest of honour at the Swan’s game day lunch in the Steve Waugh room, along with Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, and NSW Premier Chris Minns.

Former Sydney Swans chairman Richard Colless. Picture: AFL Media

China’s Sydney Consul General Zhou Limin will also be at the 350-person Saturday function, along with senior business figures including Warwick Smith, NAB chairman Phil Chronican, President of the Australia China Business Council David Olsson, Peter Cai, the CEO of the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, and senior local representatives from China’s state-owned banks.

Many of those in the room have directly raised Ms Lei’s plight with China’s Ambassador, and some, including Mr Smith have spoken publicly on her behalf.

She still has not learned her sentence, 450 days after her one-day, closed trial. A similar secretive Beijing trial for fellow Australian, Dr Yang Hengjun, was held 758 days ago. He also hasn’t been given a sentence.

Ambassador Xiao has previously said he was sympathetic to the former CGTN anchor’s imprisonment, which remains a major hurdle before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s planned trip to China later in the year.

“China’s judicial authorities have handled the case in accordance with the law, and the lawful rights of Cheng are under full protection,” the Chinese Ambassador said on Friday.

An hour and a half before the game, a dragon dance wound around the SCG ahead of a Chinese-focused pre-game show.

An incredible Dragon dance to mark a celebration of the Chinese community and their contribution to the AFL!#GoSwanspic.twitter.com/EfT207Hs95

— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) June 24, 2023

“We’re going to sing the Swans song in Mandarin,” Mr Colless said.

More than 2,000 free tickets have been given to Chinese international students associations and community groups, which the Swans hope will help attract new fans. About 30,000 fans are expected for the afternoon game.