Footy's first foray into the people's republic, a shipment of 500 footballs, 500 Auskick backpacks and 500 hats, hit its first hurdle at Customs last month.

Unaccustomed to handling the Sherrin, Chinese officials were bewildered to find 500 footballs invading their country. The balls were immediately impounded and not released for more than a month, despite daily pleas.

As the chairman (Mao not Mike Fitzpatrick) once said: ''Revolution is not a dinner party.''

This was a minor hiccup but a football revolution is what is being planned. The task of getting Australian footballs into young Chinese hands falls to Andrew Sawitsch, the AFL's only full-time employee in China hand-picked to start up the Auskick program now running in five Shanghai-area schools.

As if taking on Sydney and the Gold Coast were not enough, the expansionist AFL is dipping serious toes into China hoping to one day find players but also tap a vast new broadcast market.

The Auskick push has been put in place in the lead-up to October's exhibition match between Melbourne and Brisbane Lions at Shanghai's Jiang Wan Stadium.

Ballarat-raised Sawitsch was a student in Beijing in 2003 and began the Beijing Bombers with a bunch of mates. Now, as an AFL employee, he has relocated to Shanghai, where he is running a variation of the Auskick program. ''The philosophy is based on fun, safety and inclusiveness,'' he says.

The program runs during school hours and takes over one class per week for each group. Each student gets a backpack, ball, hat and drink bottle and a quick introduction to the game. About 350 students aged nine to 10 are already involved with plans to further expand.

''We see this as a really good launching pad to expand from,'' he said. There's no limit really on how much we can grow it eventually.''

The students are initially shown a DVD of game highlights and skills before they are let loose on the field. ''They get pretty confused,'' he said. ''They can't figure out if it is rugby or American football, you show them a bit of video and explain the fundamentals. But their skills and the way they pick up the game are great.''

The effort is part of a broader push into China ahead of the Brisbane versus Melbourne game in October, part of Australia's offering at Shanghai's World Expo. The AFL is expecting up to 10,000 people to attend. Representatives from Chinese free-to-air network the Shanghai Media Group will travel to Melbourne in May to study how Australian broadcasters film, commentate and present the sport. Hopes are high that a broadcast deal will soon be closed - initially just to cover the October match but later to include the grand final - including Chinese-language commentary.

The SMG is a major player with free-to-air reach that would dwarf the niche cable channels currently broadcasting the sport overseas. The broadcast group estimates the October match and possibly the grand final would reach a potential Chinese audience of 100 million.

The AFL is basing its approach on American football's success at breaking into the Chinese market.

''What the NFL did very successfully with the Shanghai Media Group was induct them into the game,'' AFL head of game development Dave Matthews told The Age. ''Help their commentators understand the product, help their cameramen learn how to shoot it. That builds a good relationship and we are taking a similar sort of tack. They are pretty excited about it.''

American football even went so far as to offer the Chinese network its own commentary box for the Super Bowl - an idea that is being considered for future grand finals.

There are still some cultural hurdles to overcome. ''People in China are really busy and kids are very focused on their studies,'' Sawitsch said. ''You have to fit in with their ideas about sport and the world.''

Part of the challenge has been getting local teachers to grasp the concept of playing for fun rather than playing only to win.

''We are not looking for kids who are going to win Olympic gold medals, play every day or be really super serious about it. We just want them to enjoy the game.''

Convincing teachers and parents that Australian rules is not a violent or dangerous game has also been hard.

Plans are already under way to have the sport played at senior level at the Shanghai Sports University, which is next door to the stadium where the Demons and Lions will play, and for those players to form the nucleus of a Chinese team at next year's International Cup.

While the foray into China is far less advanced than the AFL push into South Africa, Sawitsch believes Chinese players will show up on AFL rookie lists within a decade.

''There's countless opportunities over here, it's really exciting and the perfect time to grow the game,'' he said.