Liu Minxia

GAELIC football, a traditional Irish sport that is largely unknown in China, is popular in Shenzhen because of Shenzhen Celts Gaelic Football Club.

Started in 2003 by Irishman Pete Watson, the club is now one of the largest expat sports clubs in the city, with more than 80 members from 16 different countries including Ireland, China, the United States, Australia, Brazil, Ukraine, France, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, Italy and Spain.

“When I first came, we didn’t have many things to do in our spare time,” said Watson, who moved from Taiwan to Shenzhen five and a half years ago and now works for an Irish customer services company in the city. “It’s more like a social club formed as a means to meet new friends.”

The proudest moment of the club, many members say, was in May last year when Olya Adyrova from Ukraine and Erwan Morvan from France tied the knot, two years after they first met when playing for the Celts at the All China Games in Beijing. Many members traveled to Hong Kong for the wedding ceremony and they all wore their Celts T-shirts.

Known more for their partying than for their achievements on the pitch, the club welcomes new members regardless of age, gender, nationality and experience, said Louise Weste, ladies’ captain of the club.

She said Gaelic football, a mixture of soccer and rugby, is very easy to learn and causes few injuries.

“I’d like to say to the girls: It’s a great way of meeting some hot Western men. And by that I mean sweaty,” Weste joked.

Since coming into existence, the club has participated in every All China and All Asian Gaelic Games and almost every time, mostly thanks to the ladies’ team, silverware has made its way back to the Shenzhen club.

In 2006, the club successfully hosted the All China Gaelic Games in Shenzhen. Teams from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan traveled to Shenzhen for a weekend of sports and a beach party was held after the matches in Dameisha. This year, the club will travel to Malaysia and Beijing for the tournament.

Every year, the club holds an election to pick committee members. Incumbent club president Joe Perrott said he enjoyed the work. “We take turns to work for the team, to make it grow,” he said. “It’s a lot of work to do and it’s easier when more people get involved in the organizing work.”

Though the Celts is not one of the oldest expat clubs in Shenzhen, it’s one of the few expat clubs to have a long-term sponsor. PCH International, an Irish company that the club founder and many other players work for, has been supporting the team for years. “Our sponsor keeps everyone happy, and they benefit too,” Watson said. “PCH met many of their future employees through the club.”

“We also get a supporter T-shirt for every competition, which also has the company name and logo printed on it,” Weste said.