Fifteen nations will join together with Australia’s Socceroos for the AFC Asian Football 2015 when it kicks off on 9 January in Melbourne.

Australian and Chinese football fans will be glued to our television screens as we cheer on our teams in the oldest, largest and most prestigious football event in Asia.

Some of the best footballers in the world, including some of the most promising young and upcoming stars, will participate in 32 matches in five cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Newcastle, across 23 days. It will be the first time that Australia hosts the tournament, and it will also be the biggest, single football championship ever played in Australia.

The Asian Cup presents an exciting opportunity to celebrate and honour the place of sport in Australia and the Asian region and further strengthen the relationships between participating countries.

Major sporting events play a critical role in Australia’s promotion of its sporting assets, industry expertise and sporting events, both in Australia and internationally, as well as generating long-term economic, diplomatic, tourism and community benefits.

This summer Australia will play host to several major sporting and cultural events, including the Australian Open grand slam tennis event starting on 19 January in Melbourne. Last year’s Australian Open was watched by 180 million Chinese. Chinese tennis superstar Li Na won the hearts of Australians when she held aloft the Women’s Singles Cup. Li Na is now a “Friend of the Australian Open” globally.

2014 was an important year in the history of Australia-China relations, culminating in the successfulconclusion of Free Trade Agreement negotiations in November announced during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Australia, unlocking significant opportunities for both nations. We hope to build on these successes in 2015, and I can think of no better way to start the year than by welcoming China’s national football team to Australia during Australia’s summer of sport to compete with teams from around the region. 

With close to one million people of Chinese heritage calling Australia home, the Chinese team can expect to receive fervent support in Australia. To help build that support, 30 leaders of the Chinese-Australiancommunity have been appointed as Multicultural Ambassadors for the 2015 Asian Cup.

Community relations and cultural links between Australia and China are continuing to develop strongly and play a vital role in the relationship. The Chinese community in Australia is an important part of our people-to-people links with China, and high growth in tourism and education has bolstered these links. China is our second largest source of visitors with 759,691 arrivals in 2013-14. In September 2014 there were over 95,000 Chinese student visa holders; making China Australia’s top source of international students. We look forward to welcoming more young Chinese people to Australia to work and travel when the Work and Holiday Visa arrangements, announced during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Australia in November 2014, commence later this year. 

Over several years, Australia and China have cooperated in sports such as tennis, basketball, swimming and football. The two countries signed an MOU in Sydney in 2005 between Australia’s peak sports administrative body, the Australian Sports Commission, and its Chinese equivalent, the State General Administration of Sport. The agreement paved the way for increased cooperation between our sporting organisations, coaches, athletes and administrators in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and beyond.

Australia is well known as a world leader in sporting innovation, whether in coaching, training, administration or sports science and medicine.Australia has also benefited greatly from the skills and knowledge we have acquired from other countries including Chinese coaches, particularly in diving and gymnastics.

I believe that cooperation in sports will continue to grow with support from both governments.

The AFC Asian Football Cup 2015 is not only an opportunity to show the world Australia’s sporting pedigree but also to welcome our neighbours and friends to Australia. 

I look forward to cheering both China and Australia as they participate in the AFC Asian Cup 2015 – and I wish both teams the best of luck.

Frances Adamson

Australian Ambassador to China

The same story reported in Chinese: 澳驻华大使通过本网预祝中澳球队在亚洲杯取得佳绩