AusLeisure

Chinese state media has reported that the former head of China's scandal-ridden football association and other executives have been detained as part of a police probe into corruption in the sport.

The reports indicated charges could be imminent for Nan Yong, former President of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), and its Vice Director Yang Yimin, who previously were reported to have been taken in by police for questioning.

"Nan Yong, Yang Yimin and others were criminally detained according to the law," the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting police.

The two men were reported "removed" from their posts at the end of January.

The Xinhua agency last week said the pair were taken in as part of a probe into corruption that has dogged China's beleaguered professional leagues.

It was not clear how many other football officials have been detained.

The China News Service said Fan Guangming, an official who managed the CFA's amateur league, was suspected of fixing a match in 2006 in a case believed to involve 1.5 million yuan ($250,000).

Following widespread allegations of organised gambling, crooked referees and match-fixing earlier this decade, the CFA announced in late 2006 that it had set up a joint task force with police to root out corruption in the sport.

Previous reports have said at least 21 football and club officials have been formally arrested since November, with police interrogating more than 100 suspects.

In a speech last Tuesday, Chinese Sports Minister Liu Peng lamented the state of the game in the world's most populous nation and said deep-seated problems were stopping China becoming a major football powerhouse.

The turmoil in Chinese football and the reasons for China not bidding to host the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup were explored in the feature 'Not Made for China' in the January/February 2009 issue of Australasian Leisure Management.

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.