First and 10 for China's gridiron pioneers

Students flock to get involved as US sport soars in popularity

The National American Football League was launched on Monday in Beijing, realizing a dream for thousands of Chinese enthusiasts of the hard-hitting sport.

"The league is like a big family for all those who love American football, a game that is loved by more and more Chinese," said league chairman Kong Yinuo, who attended college in the US.

The league is a joint venture by the Non-state Owned Investment Committee of the IAC, the China Institute for Development and Reform of CUFE and the Beijing United Union Sports Corp.

China's love affair with America's most popular sport is being fueled by more Chinese students returning home after studying in the US and by businessmen hoping to capitalize on an untapped market.

The China Arena Football League indoor circuit, which includes eight sports universities, will debut next month in Wuhan, overseen by former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski and businessman Martin E. Judge, majority owners of the Philadelphia Soul of the US-based Arena Football League.

The CAFL - which Jaworski calls "one of the most bizarre things" he has ever been associated with - will kick off with eight 20-man teams, operating under Arena League rules, in a number of Chinese Basketball Association venues.

"We want to help those who love American football to realize their dream of playing true US sport," said Kong, who joined the Beijing Cyclones after graduating last year.

"American football promotes team work, honor and fighting spirit - which the single child of most Chinese families badly needs."

Kong said many people have a misinterpretation that only those who studied in the US and played American football are interested in the game. Almost 80 percent of the Chinese players he has met had never been abroad or played the game, but once they sampled it they were hooked.

China currently has 45 teams playing US football, with about 20 of them represented at Monday's launch ceremony.

The US-based National Football League is helping spread American football culture across China, including the Home Field initiative that allows fans in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to visit a dedicated venue in each city to get an up close and personal look at the game until Nov 3.

NFL China has partnered with Shanghai Stadium, Beihang University and Tianhe Sports Center in Guangzhou to connect with fans.

"The NFL's strong growth in popularity in China makes this the right time for the NFL Home Field project," NFL China managing director Richard Young said on its website.

A total of 27 events over nine weeks in the three cities will provide outlets for the NFL's expanding fan base in China. Statistics provided by the NFL indicate about 15 million Chinese watched games on TV or the Internet in 2014.

"We are confident of growing the sport's popularity in China through a series of activities such as youth training clinics, the creation of sports industry parks, national competitions and high-end seminars," said Kong.

Shanghai Jiaotong University was one of the first universities to take up the game in that city in 2012.

"I remember that at the start we had only 15 outfits for more than 30 players, so we had to repeatedly exchange uniforms during training and competition," said Jiaotong player Sun Ruihua. "But we never lost enthusiasm for the game.

"Thanks to support from all circles, on the scale of interest we moved from zero to 1. Now we have to work harder to go from 1 to 100."