The authorities turn to a table tennis hero to save Chinese football
Beijing (AsiaNews) - In the latest effort to revive a game that has often been called a national disgrace in China because of corruption scandals and poor performance, sport authorities in Beijing have appointed a table tennis hero to manage its national football body.
Cai Zhenhua, the former top coach to China's state-sponsored army of table tennis players, was named head of the China Football Association (CFA) on Tuesday.
He promised to revive Chinese football, President Xi Jinping's favourite sport.
"We will never forget the 1-5 loss to Thailand that the national team suffered . . . June 15 was a day of shame for Chinese soccer," Cai was quoted as saying.
His task now is to re-energise the national team.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency described the loss at the hands of a hitherto weaker adversary a "humiliation" and a "tragedy for Chinese soccer"
China has a large number of football fans. President Xi Jinping is a noted enthusiast and has repeatedly called for improved performances from the national team.
Last year, during a trip to Indonesia, he expressed his hope that China would qualify for the World Cup finals.
However, in addition to an unremarkable performance, Chinese football has also suffered a series of corruption scandals that have hit the national championships.
Uncovered in February of 2012, illegal betting and match-fixing unit brought down the top league despite a campaign launched in 2009 by the central government to "clean up" the game.
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