You probably didn’t know it existed but it does, so there. The Chongqing Dockers are officially the greatest American Football team in the Chinese nation. Yes, that’s right. Great news for American Football fans in China. Only established last summer, the American Football League of China (AFLC) – the first and only national American Football association in China, might just have expanded American Football fever in Asia, following the founding of the Hong Kong American Football League two years earlier.

Despite its young age, the league is a pioneer of American Football in the country. The league consists of eight teams from various parts of the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong: the Tianjin Pirates, Beijing Cyclones, Shanghai Titans, and Shanghai Warriors, in the east; and in the west there is the Chongqing Dockers, Chengdu Mustangs, Guangzhou Tigers, and the Hong Kong Warhawks.

The AFLC successfully held its first season – the American Football League of China (AFLC) Championship, starting in October 2013 and wrapped up its final game in Luwan Stadium, Shanghai on Jan 12. The match was between eastern leaders Shanghai Warriors and the best of the west, the Chongqing Dockers. It was a topsy-turvy game that ultimately saw the Chongqing Dockers coming from behind in the fourth quarter to be crowned Champions of the Chinese Superbowl (or should that be the Super Rice Bowl?) with the final score 24-16.

“The idea behind AFLC was to create competition between teams that already exist. We found ourselves practicing with no real end-game. We wanted to play a season and find out who the best team in the country was. I guess we know now,” said James Fitzgerald, 23 year-old linebacker for the Chongqing Dockers and one of the founders of the American Football League of China (AFLC).

Although American Football is not the most popular sport in China, the fan base is growing fast.

“We hope to grow to 10-12 teams next season. We have more people that want to play, instead of being fans, but our goal is overall growth in numbers of teams, fans, players, and games,” said Fitzgerald.

Now that the season is officially over, the AFLC is arranging an exhibition season for the spring; they will incorporate informal games between the teams for practice and will arrange the second “real” season over the summer.

Aside from practice, the league also holds team-building activities such film nights and gatherings where everyone is welcome. So why not head over to the American Football League of China’s website and show off your hidden football talent! If you live in one of the teams’ provinces, show up in the games and support your home team by joining the league. One more time: Congratulations to the Chongqing Dockers!

Images Source: AFLC