One of them is 11 years old. China imprisons two former football officials

China on Wednesday imprisoned two more former football officials on bribery charges, according to data from two courts, as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign in domestic football.
Liu Yi, who was General Secretary of the Chinese Football Association, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a fine of 3.6 million yuan (497,000 US dollars) on charges of receiving bribes, according to a court in the central province of Hubei.
In a separate court in the same province, Tan Hai, former head of the Federation’s Governors’ Administration Office, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison and a fine of 200,000 yuan ($27,000).
The statements issued by the two courts said, “The property they obtained illegally will be recovered in accordance with the law and transferred to the state treasury.”
Another court announced on Tuesday that Qi Jun, the former head of strategic planning in the federation, was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of 600,000 yuan ($82,000), also on charges of bribery.
A large-scale campaign against corruption of public officials during the era of current Chinese President Xi Jinping has severely affected the sports sector, specifically football.
Supporters say the policy promotes clean governance, while others see it as a way for Xi to get rid of his political opponents.
Chinese authorities began cracking down on football corruption in late 2022 as part of a broader crackdown on the sports industry.
Last March, Xuyuan Chen, the former president of the federation, was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of accepting bribes worth 10 million euros.
In the same month, Li Tai, former coach of the Chinese national team and former Everton midfielder, pleaded guilty to charges of accepting bribes worth 9.7 million euros and helping to fix matches.
It is noteworthy that Xi, who declares himself a football fan, wants China to host the World Cup and win the title one day, but the men’s team has not achieved the desired performance.
China currently occupies 90th place in the International Federation (FIFA) rankings, only one place behind the small island of Curacao in the Caribbean.