Former China Football Federation president is sentenced to LIFE in prison as Chen Xuyuan is convicted of bribery as part of nation’s crackdown on corruption in sport

The former president of China’s Football Federation [CFA], Chen Xuyuan, has been sentenced to life in prison for bribery, as reported by the country’s state media.

Xuyan served as the CFA’s chief during a four-year spell between 2019 and 2023 and faced charges alongside fellow members of former staff charged with corruption within the organisation.

President Xi Jinping has been leading an anti-corruption investigation in China’s sport, banking and military organisations, with Xuyan one of the most significant high-profile individuals to now be convicted.

The 67-year-old had already plead guilty to taking bribes totalling £8.9m in January and was handed a full life sentence by the Intermediate People’s Court of Huangshi in central China on Tuesday.

The investigation that led to Xuyuan’s conviction covered a spell of illicit activities and malpractices during his time within the CFA and as former president and chairman of Shanghai International Port Group over a 13-year stint starting in 2010.

China’s state-controlled Xinhua news agency report Xuyuan accepted money and gifts in exchange for his assistance on planning sporting events and helping obtain sporting contracts.

It has also been stated that three other officials alongside Xuyuan have also been sentenced for periods of between eight and 14 years in prison for corruption.

The latest wave of sentences highlights China’s continued drive to clampdown on corruption within football across the country.

Former Everton midfielder and ex-China national team head coach, Li Tie, previously confessed to corruption and match-fixing on Chinese TV.

Li admitted he paid 3 million yuan (£330,000) in bribes to become coach of the national team and to taking part in a match-fixing scandal to win promotions with his club teams.

China’s footballing ambitions to establish the country’s top-flight as a major league saw a host of former European and South American talents head to the nation at the start of the 2010s.

However, the huge salaries being offered by competing clubs eventually led to debts racking up and the number of foreign players has severely dwindled in recent years.

President Jinping previously outlined plans to make China a global football power with ambitions of both hosting and winning a World Cup in the future.