By Levi J Parsons
SYDNEY, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Sydney F.C. has noticed the growing interest from China in the Australia's A-League team, said the club's chief executive officer Tony Pignata on Monday.
With an emphatic 3-0 win over the Perth Glory on Saturday, Sydney F.C. will now face the Melbourne Victory on Sunday in Australia's A-League Grand Final, after having one of the most successful campaigns in Aussie football.
The Sky Blues, losing just one game in the season, is making an effort to engage more Chinese fans.
"We have recently set up a Sydney F.C. WeChat account aimed at engaging a lot more Chinese football fans and followers in Sydney," Pignata told Xinhua.
"We are actively working with some of our existing corporate partners such as the University of New South Wales in Sydney to reach out to the Chinese community," he added.
With the Sydneysiders' place in the Asian Champions League booked for next season, the club is also looking at a number of new partnerships with Chinese companies to sponsor the campaign.
"Like the Hyundai A-League, the Chinese Super league has come a long way in a short period of time in terms of their size and quality on the field," Pignata said.
"Chinese clubs are also able to produce some of the best teams in Asia including Guangzhou and the likes of Shanghai Shenhua."
But despite Sydney F.C.'s comparatively smaller budget compared to some of the Chinese giants, Pignata believes the strength and tenacity of Australian players will help them compete.
"There are no doubt different circumstances to overcome with having a smaller budget in Asia, but Sydney F.C. has a very strong team of local players and I think beating Guangzhou Evergrande last year proved that we can compete with anyone in Asia," he said.
"We lead the world with our knowledge in the field of sports science, which gives us an extra advantage, while Australia is a society which has an outdoor and sport loving culture which produces exceptional athletes," he added.
Pignata is also highly enthusiastic about hosting some of the Chinese Super League's top teams.
"Chinese clubs have a great power base of fan support and they turn out in big numbers," Pignata said.
"I remember when we played AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande at Allianz Stadium last season, there were 10,000 Chinese fans here to support their team which was incredible," he recalled.
