Aiming for higher goals

Fighting corruption

Throughout 2024, China's anti-graft authorities, supported by law enforcement departments, intensified the crackdown on illegal activities in soccer that resulted in more than 10 notable figures, including former players, coaches and CFA officials, being sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in match-fixing and bribery.

Among those investigated and punished, the highest-profile offender was arguably former men's national team coach Li Tie, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Xianning Intermediate People's Court in Hubei province in December for bribery-related crimes.

The 47-year-old former midfielder, who was on China's only World Cup roster in 2002, was found by prosecutors to have offered bribes to officials who helped him win election to the position of national team coach in 2020, before accepting bribes from some certain league clubs to select their players into the national squad during his tenure.

Former deputy sports minister Du Zhaocai, former CFA president Chen Xuyuan and former CFA secretary-general Liu Yi were also convicted of bribery and sentenced to jail terms last year.

In September, a special investigation led by the General Administration of Sport of China and the Ministry of Public Security uncovered 120 matches suspected to be tainted by match-fixing or gambling, spanning various leagues and competitions, including the CSL, the CFA Cup and the top-tier women's league, implicating 41 affiliated clubs.

A total of 43 former players, referees, coaches and club executives were banned for life from taking part in any soccer-related activities after the investigation, which has also dismantled 12 online gambling gangs.