China has put two dozen former football officials, players, coaches and referees behind bars in its boldest attempt to clean up the corruption-plagued sport.
The jail sentences – as long as ten years for two of the country’s former soccer chiefs and the disgraced national team captain – are the culmination of a campaign against bribery and match-fixing that was launched in 2010.
Football is both a national obsession and a national shame for China. Millions play the sport and regularly tune in to watch international matches, but the country’s team has been conspicuous by its failures, qualifying only once for the World Cup. The domestic league, meanwhile, has struggled for years through violence on the pitch and corruption off it.
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