AFL Port Adelaide vs St Kilda Shanghai game set to be scrapped

The federal government is also expected to scrap a festival of Asia trade and investment fair across 10 cities.

Dougal Howard of the Power during the Round 11 AFL match between the St Kilda Saints and Port Adelaide Power in Shanghai last year. Picture: AAP

The AFL is set to cancel this year’s Shanghai game between Port Adelaide and St Kilda, and the federal government is also expected to scrap the Festival of Asia trade and investment fair in the lead-up to the game.

In the latest sporting event to be hit by the coronavirus outbreak, both the May 31 AFL game and the Festival of Australia trade fair, a program of activity across 10 cities in China highlighting Australia’s premium food and wine, aged care, education and tourism, will be held over until next year.

The decision is a major blow to the work done by both Austrade and Tourism Australia, and also Port Adelaide and the AFL in promoting the event.

In Adelaide, there was speculation that Prime Minister Scott Morrison would attend the event, although his office said on Monday that the trip had not been discussed with him and that he had no plans to visit China at that time.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham last year announced a three-year commitment to the AFL game and trade fair, committing up to $250,000 a year from Austrade towards the festival, on top of Tourism Australia’s $400,000 as the official tourism sponsor for the match itself.

Port Adelaide chairman David Koch conceded on Monday it was unlikely the game would be held in China, with the AFL having drawn up plans to shift the match to Cazaly Stadium in Cairns.

“There are contingency plans with the AFL and as to a final decision we have got to do it in the very near future,” Mr Koch said.

“We are taking advice from the federal government. The federal government has a big interest in the game in May and they do a lot of promotion around it.

“But when you see the spread of the virus at the moment to other countries you would think that there is more of a chance of it not going ahead than going ahead.

“Everyone has got to be pretty vigilant, not only in China and Australia but around the world at the moment.”

Adelaide’s biggest travel agent, Phil Hoffman from Phil Hoffman Travel, said demand for packages to the match had been “very strong” at the start of the year but had “dried up completely”.

Mr Hoffman, a foundation board member of Port’s AFL club and a lifelong Port Adelaide supporter, said he had attended the club’s 150th anniversary dinner last Friday where the expectation was that the game would “definitely” be scrapped.

“It’s a real pity as people love going there, Shanghai is the New York of South East Asia, but with everything that’s going on you can’t sell it,” Mr Hoffman told The Australian.

“Bookings have just stopped and it’s only a matter of time until an announcement is made. It will be cancelled.”

The Shanghai match has been central to the turnaround in Port Adelaide’s financial fortunes with Port making a profit of more than $500,000 from last year’s game and enjoying annual revenue of $6 million from China presence, accounting for 10 per cent of its total revenue.

Port Adelaide has a permanent office in Shanghai. St Kilda, the Melbourne club which played for the first time in China last year under a three-year deal, has also opened an office with assistance from the Victorian government.