Top official of the Chinese Football Association sentenced to eleven years in prison for corruption

A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a former top official of the Chinese Football Association to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes, making him the latest offender to fall victim to abuse in a sweeping campaign against corruption in sport.

Li Yuyi, former vice president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), was sentenced by a court in Jingzhou, Hubei province.

He was also sentenced to pay a fine of $140,000. All assets he acquired through corruption would be confiscated and handed over to the state, the court said.

In March, Li pleaded guilty to using his positions at CFA to amass more than $1.7 million in cash and gifts between 2004 and 2021.

Li was vice president of the CFA from 2015 to 2019. Before that, he headed the Shanghai Sports Administration.

Under President Xi Jinping, authorities have cracked down on corruption in China's sports industry, particularly football.

Xi is an avowed football fanatic and has said he dreams of his country hosting and winning the World Cup.

But after repeated corruption scandals and years of disappointing results on the football pitch, this goal seems further away than ever.

In March, former CFA chief Chen Xuyuan was sentenced to life imprisonment for accepting bribes worth more than $11 million.

In the same month, former Chinese national team head coach and former Everton midfielder Li Tie pleaded guilty to accepting over $10.7 million in bribes and helping to fix matches.

And in May, state broadcaster CCTV reported that Gou Zhongwen, former director of the General Administration of Sport of China, was under investigation for corruption.

In recent months, investigations have been launched against about ten senior CFA officials.

(This article has not been edited by News18's editorial team and is taken from the feed of a syndicated news agency – AFP.)