THE Port Adelaide Football Club is taking AFL to China but it has not forgotten the Chinese community in Australia when it comes to getting members involved in the game.

A new program in 2018 called the Footy Buddy Program is seeing Chinese students in Australia paired up with locals to help them understand the game.

Since the start of the season, 22 students have become involved in the program, which sees them split into groups of two, and then taken to three AFL games across the season by a designated volunteer.

More than 10 volunteers have been identified to sit with the students to explain the rules.

Footy Buddy is the brainchild of Port Adelaide’s General Manager – China Engagement Andrew Hunter, and it is being led by Social Media and Marketing Coordinator Chengcheng Sun.

She believes that giving students a better understanding of the nation’s most popular spectator sport would help them make Australian friends and get a better understanding of Australian culture.

She said students received free tickets to three games in 2018 and it was hoped the program would help the students feel welcome as a part of the Port Adelaide Football Club community.

“We found there was a problem for international students to understand the footy game itself so we thought if we could have someone with the expertise and knowledge of the game we could bring them together and get them to explain the game,” she said.

“The students have given us really positive feedback. They mentioned they enjoyed the games, they enjoy sharing the experience with their buddies and they are getting a better understanding of the Australian culture and the footy culture.

“We definitely see some growth for this program from next year and we believe we will see more students and more volunteers interested – it is just the start to help with more engagement and more involvement with the local Chinese community.

“And we think the more people understand the game and are involved with it, they will start becoming our members and supporters.”

Volunteer Alex Ashley heard about the program at University and thought of himself as an ideal person to be involved, given his love for football and the club.

He took students Wanni ‘Natalie’ Han and Chuanrong ‘Barry’ Jin from the University of Adelaide to the Round 5 game against Geelong.

“They are very new to the game, this is the second game they’ve seen in their entire life,” Alex said.

“I’m pretty much here to let them know what the rules are, what’s going on, who is doing what, how much a goal is worth and just letting them know what the sport is.

“They’re asking me a lot of questions, mainly about holding the ball, but also about the other rules and who the biggest stars are.

“They’ve never played the sport but Barry has said he is very keen to come and have a kick with me outside of this program.”

Natalie enjoyed the atmosphere at Adelaide Oval and was impressed by the physicality of the game.

“I only know some basic rules so sometimes I am confused but it’s ok because I can ask Alex or Barry because they know better than me,” she said.

“I really love the atmosphere at the Oval and it is very exciting.

“I love the players because they are so fearless and brave so I admire them.”

Barry said he thought the program could be expanded to involve students from other overseas nations.

He found Alex’s support to be extremely helpful and he hoped to continue to attend Port Adelaide games after the program was completed.

“I think this program is awesome and I invite all overseas students to join us,” he said.

“I think it is a very exciting game and the competition is furious.

“The pace is fast and the athletes are very strong, they are all tough guys.

“Alex is a very friendly friend and is very professional about footy and while it is a hard game to understand and I have only seen two games so far, I am still confused about some of the rules so it has been good to be able to ask Alex.”

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