I recently returned from a meeting in China and you can imagine my surprise when I was asked by an official about an Olive Ball team.......... Specifically the St George Dragons! :). It was in regards to the many opportunities that will come with the recent FTA between our countries.
PS.....There is no word in Mandarin to describe Rugby League / Union or AFL. They call them all Olive Ball.
The NRL has finally made contact with Paul "Shanghai" Broughton, chief executive Todd Greenberg giving the code's approval for the veteran official to approach the federal government about his project to bring Chinese athletes to play in the NRL.
If you think gambling has too much say over the game today. Connect China and the continued reliance on gambling revenue and you will have the most profitable football code in the country if not Asia. It just may cease to be trusted by the fans.......like China local sports......but will sure make money along with continued match fixing, corruption and organised crime headlines.
What year does anyone want to bet that a China consortium will own the "St George - Shanghai Dragons" :)
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