By Chris McAsey
China national coach Michael Ouzas is confident the Dragons men’s and women’s team will put up strong showings at the AFL Asia Cup after an intensive period of local development.
‘There’s been great improvement across the whole squad in the past year due to a packed calendar of games including the highly successful AFL China Cup,’ Michael said.
China national coach Michael Ouzas with players at the 2024 AFL China Cup in Guangzhou.
‘It’s also the start of an exciting new era for China with the women’s team playing in their first international tournament.’
Regional tournaments such as the Nanjing Challenge Cup between Jiangsu and Shanghai, bi-weekly intra-club games in Xiamen, and further south, a strong local GDAFL competition in Guangzhou have given China’s best young talent opportunities to develop and showcase their talent.
China’s preparation has ramped up again in recent months, with men’s and women’s squad players training together three times a week across nine cities.
China’s men’s and women’s squad players have been training together three times a week across nine cities.
China’s men’s squad has solid lead-in form with strong representation from national players at the Asian Championships. China was consistently competitive in Chon Buri, finishing the Champs with a 1 win, 1 draw and losses to grand finalists Hong Kong and Singapore.
The men’s team will be looking to stalwarts Whisker Lin (Captain) and spiritual GOAT Howard Zhang to lead the charge at the Asia Cup.
Coach Michael Ouzas is a long time Guangzhou Scorpion player, coach and president, with extensive experience developing Chinese talent over the past eight years.
