The Chinese sports authority announced Thursday on
its Website that CFA chief Yan Shiduo has stepped down.
Yan Shiduo, 53, has been moved as director of the Soccer Administrative
Center - the core decision-making body within the Chinese Football
Association - to an ineffectual new posting as the chief of the National
Sports Training Center.
The position was lying vacant after the retirement of former head Sun
Changxin.
In recent times, Yan has faced severe criticism for the national team's
abortive 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and the ongoing chaos in the
domestic league. He still holds the post of executive vice president of
the CFA but is likely to step down at the next plenary of the domestic soccer governing
body, which will effectively end his five-year reign as top soccer boss.
While he has drawn flak of late, Yan's reign saw China make it to the
2002 World Cup Finals - its first - in Japan and South Korea. That was
supposed to be the turning point in national soccer. But China failed to
impress at soccer's premier event and instead saw its fortune dive
further.
Yan will be succeeded by Xie Yalong, a former head of the Chinese
Athletics Association. Xie, 49, hit the headlines for clamping down on
doping in athletics before the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Most of the
athletes were Olympic gold medal hopefuls who had trained under legendary
coach Ma Junreng.
His new posting will undoubtedly thrust him back into the limelight
with tough challenges that come with the job.
The scandal-tainted Chinese Super League may still go ahead despite a
lack of sponsor after German electronic giant Siemens decided against
renewing its contract with the league.
Besides, once big-spending clubs have indulged
in massive pay cuts and rendered many footballers unemployed,
many of them national players.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-18 11:31
