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I wanted to re-visit the topic of China, I say re-visit as it was discussed at length in past on Demonology and assume it was here too. The last Melbourne administration did a lot of work to form ties in China, this included visits, donating equipment and inviting several members of a local AFL team to train with the club. They also held an exhibition game in Shanghai as part of the World Exposition, this was largely successful but was only really attended by expats were very few locals in the crowd. All of this is a good start; however, it seems that little has been done (publicly) to continue the push into the Chinese market. I wonder, if like the Irish experiment, that this will be another endeavor by the MFC which is then picked up by other clubs while we are left scratching our heads. The potential in China is mind blowing, the most popular sport in China is currently Basketball this is mainly due to the success of Yao Ming and as a result half of the country (yes, an exaggeration) follow the Houston Rockets and own at least one item of their official merchandise, this makes the Rockets one of the most attractive teams to sponsor in the world. I am not purporting that any push by the MFC would have the same effect or be comparable to the Rockets, however, it seems that this initiative is dead in the water or at least come to a stand still – I can’t for the life of me understand why. The Chinese are extremely nationalistic and as soon as a Chinese person enters a sporting stage that sport and subsequently that team get a huge amount of air play on the state owned (all) television stations, this has the obvious flow on affect of generating a lot local interest and support. I propose that instead of sitting on the sidelines that the MFC becomes more active in the World’s largest market and the current economic powerhouse. I have often thought about how this can be done. First, the MFC needs to continue to establish ties with local sports teams, for example Beijing Guoan (soccer team), this will do a lot to get the MFC brand out into the public. Secondly, the MFC need to give a great amount of support into growing the game within China. They should start this by being actively involved in the Chinese AFL teams, this could be done by reaching out to both the expat teams in Beijing and Shanghai. Thirdly, the MFC could be taking advantage of the Chinese social media systems such as weibo (Chinese twitter), Ren ren (Chinese Face book) and Chinese video streaming sites. Chinese live their lives online and by utilizing these tools the MFC would very quickly generate a lot of interest among the Neitzens. If they were to post highlights of each MFC game on video sharing websites then these would spread like wildfire. All of my Chinese friends love AFL they love the pace the skill and the hits. Finally, and perhaps most importantly the MFC should seek out a Chinese national who is a natural at sport and who could have the potential (with work) to play AFL football. Put said athlete on the rookie list and spend the time to develop him. This would generate enormous exposure in the Chinese market. If the athlete does not amount to anything, what have we lost? A rookie spot. However, think about what we have gained. We have gained a huge amount of free publicity in China – significantly raising our currency to potential sponsors. We would potentially gain million of supporters, albeit not members but people willing to buy official merchandise. Although as an aside the club could put together a $15 membership. We have regained credibility as a club that thinks outside of the box. I am sure that there are many other upsides that I have not written; I am very interested to hear what other posters feel about the topic.