Port Adelaide Football Club’s community development arm, Power Community Ltd, has long provided opportunities for Adelaide’s international students to attend an AFL football game and truly immerse themselves in quintessential Australian culture, however it has been its partnerships with UniSA and the Australian International Education Services in 2014 which have really allowed the Club to bring a unique game day experience to some lucky participants.

Each week during the AFL season, over 50 International Students are invited to the State’s newest sports Mecca, Adelaide Oval, to see the Power in action and to get amongst some of the AFL’s most passionate supporters. However, it’s more than just a seat in the grandstand for these students.

Meeting at the ground several hours before a game, students are escorted into Adelaide Oval where they get the opportunity to meet a player and hear all about the life of an AFL player. The player will also take a moment to explain to rules to the first time game goers, starting with a most important tip: to back the team in teal, black and white!

The Port Adelaide Football Club also sees these partnerships as a vital part of its broader China Strategy. AIES, an education agent providing advice and assistance to students, open their offices each week, inviting students to come in, have a bite to eat and hear about the services they offer.

AIES will speak to all students wishing to study in Adelaide but seem to attract a Chinese market, given their understanding of the language and the required Visas. Situated right by Rundle Mall, all students who attend AIES before an AFL match will join the Power’s ‘True Believers’ in the ‘March from the Mall’ which leaves just over an hour before first bounce. Chinese students find the March to be unlike anything they have experienced in their own country and it has proven to be an exciting precursor to the match.

The Port Adelaide Football Club and Power Community Ltd thank UniSA and AIES for partnering with us to engage Adelaide’s ever-growing population of International Students - we are kicking goals together.