Former Chinese FA Chief jailed for life over Corruption Charge's

State media reported on Tuesday that a former chief of China's football association has been given a life sentence for his involvement in a corruption scandal. The individual was found guilty of accepting bribes totaling over $10 million, marking one of the largest anti-corruption investigations in the sport in recent times.

Chen Xuyuan received his sentence following investigations into numerous high-ranking officials starting from late 2022, causing significant harm to Chinese football, as reported by the official Xinhua news agency.

The sport has been struggling with corruption for a long time, with fans attributing it to the consistent underperformance of the national team, as evidenced by the sentencing of two former association chiefs in 2012 for bribery.

Chen, who started his career working on Shanghai docks, rose to become the head of Shanghai International Port Co in the 2010s and later chaired the Chinese Football Association (CFA) in 2019.

A court in Hubei province found that Chen had misused his positions from 2010 to 2023, including those related to the CFA, to assist others in project contracting, investment operations, and sports events arrangements, leading to the acceptance of bribes totaling over 81 million yuan ($11.22 million).

Confessions of corruption, like Chen's admission of accepting bribes, have become more common on national television since President Xi Jinping initiated a comprehensive anti-graft campaign upon taking office.

The People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, emphasized that the fight against corruption has no end, underscoring the ongoing battle against such practices.

According to the newspaper, the corruption in football is not accidental and it is crucial to investigate its origins and address both the symptoms and root causes.

Other football officials, such as Chen Yongliang, Liu Lei, Yu Hongchen, and Dong Zheng, have also been investigated for corruption.

Chen has been sentenced to 14 years in prison, Yu to 13 years, Dong to eight years, and Liu to 2 1/2 years. However, the judgements for Li Tie and Du Zhaocai, who are also accused of corruption, are still pending.