These days, many Chinese people wake up in the middle of the night to watch the live UEFA European Football Championship matches. Yet despite a national soccer (football) fever, Chinese professional soccer still falters. Widespread corruption in the industry is well-documented, with the example of an in-depth report from the Economist (via CDT).
Now, several prominent members of China’s national soccer organization have been sentenced on corruption charges. According to a recent Reuters’ report:
Two former Chinese football chiefs and several former national team players were handed lengthy jail sentences for taking bribes or match-fixing, state media reported on Wednesday, in a move to clean up rampant corruption in the sport.
Nan Yong, the former head of Chinese football, was sentenced to 10 1/2 years for taking bribes worth more than 1.48 million yuan ($232,300), the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xie Yalong, Nan’s predecessor, received an identical sentence and was fined 200,000 yuan for also taking bribes.
See also via CDT:
China’s Struggling Soccer Program Won’t Field a Team in the 2010 World Cup
China’s Football Chief Held In Matchfixing Probe
Read more about soccer in China via CDT.
