During the trial at the Intermediate People’s Court of Huangshi in central China, Chen’s illicit activities spanning from 2010 to 2023 were brought to light, shedding light on his previous tenure as the president and chairman of Shanghai International Port Group.
Prosecutors outlined that Chen had accepted monetary bribes and valuable assets in return for leveraging his influence to secure project contracts and orchestrate sporting events.
Earlier this year, Li Tie, a former midfielder for Everton and former head coach of China’s national men’s soccer team, admitted to match-fixing and providing bribes to individuals, including Chen, in a bid to secure the top coaching position in China.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also verified that Son Jun-ho, a South Korean player who previously played for Shandong Taishan, had been detained by police in connection with a bribery case. South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed this week that Son had been released from custody.
In the past President Xi has voiced his ambition to turn China into a major footballing nation. In 2011, he spoke of his ‘three wishes’ for Chinese football: to qualify for the World Cup again, to host the tournament and to one day win the trophy.
Over the past decade, clubs in China’s Super League have spent huge sums of money to attract some of the world’s top players, including Brazilian midfielder Oscar, former Argentina forward Carlos Tevez and Belgian international Axel Witsel.
Consequently, the influx of such practices led to clubs accumulating significant debts, prompting the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to introduce a salary cap in 2020.
At the time of implementation, the CFA stated that the objective of the salary cap was to redirect investments towards nurturing domestic talent rather than relying heavily on importing international players.
As a result of these measures, the number of foreign players participating in the league has significantly dwindled, with only a minority remaining.
Recent detentions of major football figures have dealt another setback to the country’s football ambitions.
Despite these problems, domestic football is still popular in China and Mr Chen’s corruption scandal shocked fans.
STORY BY ; PORTIA AKU SHIKA GAFAH
