China hosted an American college football tournament for the first time, with six teams vying for the China American Football League (CAFL) University Championship at the Chaoyang Sports Center in Beijing from Oct. 15 to 18, China Daily reported.
After the round-robin tournament participated by six teams from Chinese universities, Shandong Sport University Flames defeated Hebei's Institute of Physical Education's Hebei Nirvana in the championship game, 46-42.
On Oct. 18, Saturday, CAFL co-founder Marty Judge presented the inaugural CAFL University Championship trophy to the Shandong team at the Chaoyang Sports Center in Beijing.
"American football is coming to China; let the countdown begin. This is another step forward in our plan to bring American Football to China, and it's a moment that will be remembered. The athletes are ready, the coaches are ready, and of course, we're ready to kick off," said Judge.
The tournament was a collaborative project between the CAFL and the Chinese Rugby Football Association (CRFA).
Judge is also the founder of Philadelphia-based global professional services firm Judge Group Inc., which helped bring indoor American football to China together with National Football League quarterback Ron Jaworski and Super Bowl-winning coach Dick Vermeil.
With preliminary plans for six to eight teams distributed across several major cities in China, the CAFL will start in Sept. 2015 with each team composed of 12 Chinese and eight American players.
Many of the CAFL participants and coaches will come directly from the Arena Football League (AFL), which is also co-owned by Judge, CCTV America reported.
Considering that most children in Chinese families are the only child, Judge said that Chinese parents are "still very much concerned about the risks because traditionally Chinese young people do not engage in physical contact sport that much."
On the other hand, Judge noted that Chinese parents are already "learning to respect their child's choice."
In 2013, an arena football exhibition game attracted 10,000 people. With this good following for the sport, Judge is now focused on finding franchise buyers among the Chinese elite.