China’s war on graft in football

Msome of them Sima Nan is a cheerleader for her country and the ruling Communist Party. His posts on Weibo, China’s Twitter, are often venomous to the West. But on February 20, his rage was triggered by domestic affairs. In a lengthy message to his nearly 3.2 million followers, he praised men’s soccer in China, suggesting that “fundamental flaws” in the Chinese game were hampering the country’s efforts to compete in the international political arena as well.

Many Chinese fans share Sima’s gloomy assessment that football is failing China. Their mood could hardly be more sour. At the World Cup finals held in Qatar at the end of last year, the Chinese team was absent again. It has only made it once, in 2002, and even then it was relegated after losing all three of its matches without scoring. Now the sport is under another dark cloud, thanks to a series of arrests at the highest levels of its administration. It is by far the most extensive anti-corruption campaign in Chinese football since Chinese leader Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 and set about trying to transform his country into a footballing giant.

The first high-profile target was former men’s national team head coach Li Tie, who was arrested in November. In January, two others were arrested: Liu Yi, who had just been replaced as general secretary of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) and Chen Yongliang, who serves as the company’s senior manager CFA. Among the latest to be arrested is Chen Xuyuan CFAn president. On February 14, the state agency in charge of sports said Chen was being investigated for “serious violations of discipline and law.” Also on the same day, it was announced that the director of a large real estate company, who had served on the board of a provincial football club, was being questioned. Rumors are spreading on social media that other “big fish” may be netted.

Details of the suspected crimes have not been released. But Chinese soccer is notorious for corruption, involving match-fixing and “black whistles,” as bent referees are known. State media compares this campaign to another major anti-graft effort in 2009, which led to several arrests. CFA managers, referees, coaches and players. It also got a lot of soul-searching into the root causes of the malaise. Many accused officials of excessive involvement in the money laundering business. In 2015, the government announced a reform plan. Its aim was to reduce the role of the state in the administration of football. The CFA was cut off.

In 2019, Chen Xuyuan, who was recently arrested, was appointed CFAThe president was a sign of change. He was the first businessman to get a job. Chen had previously worked as the boss of a state-owned port operator in Shanghai, which had bought a local football club and turned it into a success. at CFAHowever, some of his decisions reflected the lackluster style of the government, such as capping wages and transfer fees. He even demanded that clubs stop naming themselves after sponsors. These were blows to the football business, which has also suffered from the country’s tough pandemic controls (they were scrapped in December).

Penetrates the defense

In China, where political debate is stifled, complaints about football can sometimes seem rude to the country’s way of doing things. Chinese censors blocked nationalist blogger Sima Nan’s Weibo post. But An observer of the economy, a Beijing newspaper, managed what could be considered a gentle dig. “In the realm of football, the lack of separation between government and society, government and business inevitably breeds corruption,” it said. ■

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