At 4 a.m. on April 2, the Chinese Football Association held an impromptu general meeting at its office in Beijing. After Du Zhaocai, deputy director of the General Administration of Sports, secretary of the Party Committee and vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association, was investigated, in order to ensure the normal operation of the association, the General Administration of Sports urgently formed a "working group" to enter the Chinese Football Association and preside over the relevant work of the association. It is understood that the working group of the Chinese Football Association has a total of 9 members. The working group of the Chinese Football Association is headed by Li Yingchuan, member of the party group and deputy director of the General Administration of Sports, Cao Jingwei, the current secretary of the party committee and director of the Institute of Physical Education, Yang Xu, the current deputy director of the Hand Hockey Baseball Center, Yuan Yongqing, deputy secretary of the joint party committee and secretary of the discipline inspection commission of the Chinese Basketball Association of the basketball center, Gao Hongbo and Sun Wen, vice presidents of the Chinese Football Association, and Yan Zhanhe, secretary of the discipline inspection committee of the association.
Assist the association to carry out various tasks normally
On the morning of April 4, Du Zhaocai, deputy director of the General Administration of Sports, secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Football Association and vice chairman of the association, was officially confirmed that he was under investigation by relevant departments for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Du Zhaocai also became the sixth member of the Chinese Football Association to be taken away for investigation. Coupled with the fact that Liu Yi, former secretary general of the Chinese Football Association, Chen Yongliang, former executive deputy secretary general of the association, and Chen Jiayuan, former chairman of the association, have been investigated one after another, the leadership of the Chinese Football Association is facing collapse, which is by no means alarmist.
Since the specific business or work of the Chinese Football Association needs to go through strict approval procedures before it can be carried out or implemented, it is worrying whether these works can be carried out normally after a number of key members of the association's leadership are investigated. It is for this reason that the General Administration of Sports decided to urgently launch a "working group" to the Chinese Football Association to assist the association in carrying out various tasks normally.
At noon on April 4, all employees in Beijing from the Administrative Department, Discipline Inspection Department, Party Office, Information Department, Media Department, Strategic Planning Department and other departments of the Chinese Football Association received a notice to go to work at 1 p.m. that day. In the evening, the association also notified all employees of the association in Beijing to go to work at 2:8 a.m. the next day. On the morning of the 2nd, the main leaders of the General Administration of Sports led the team to participate in the work meeting of the Chinese Football Association, announced the establishment of the Chinese Football Association working group, and announced the specific list of members. Afterwards, Yan Zhanhe, two leaders of the General Administration of Sports and secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Chinese Football Association, made speeches respectively. The meeting lasted less than 1 hour.
Cao Jingwei returned to work in the Football Association
Among the 7 members of the working group of the Chinese Football Association, in addition to Gao Hongbo, Sun Wen and Yan Zhanhe, who are members of the current leadership of the Chinese Football Association, there is also one "old man", he is Cao Jingwei.
As early as 13 years ago, during the last round of anti-corruption storm in Chinese football, Cao Jingwei participated in the specific management of the association as one of the six middle-level cadres stationed in the Chinese Football Association by the General Administration of Sports. During his tenure in the Football Association, he served as the head of the national team management department of the association, and successively served as the national men's and women's national football team manager. Gao Hongbo, the current vice president of the Chinese Football Association, was paired with Cao Jingwei as team leader during his first time in charge of the national football team. In 6, the Chinese women's football team competed for a ticket to the London Olympics women's football tournament, and the team leader who partnered with then coach Li Xiaopeng was also Cao Jingwei. Prior to his appointment as Party Secretary and Director of the Institute of Physical Education, Cao Jingwei also served as Deputy Director General of the Department of Competition and Sports of the General Administration of Sports. During Li Xiaopeng's tenure in charge of the national football team, Cao Jingwei was also a member of the Chinese men's football preparation working group. It can be seen that the work experience and experience in football management or the work of the Football Association may be one of the important reasons for Cao Jingwei's return to the Football Association.
The two "newcomers" have rich management experience
Yang Xu and Yuan Yongqing are undoubtedly "newcomers" to the football industry. However, before that, they had been engaged in sports management for a long time and had a lot of relevant experience. For example, Yang Xu has worked in the Hand Hockey Baseball Center for a long time and is currently the chairman of the Chinese Softball Association. Yuan Yongqing, as the deputy secretary of the United Party Committee of the Chinese Basketball Association of the Basketball Center, also serves as the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee of the Basketball Association. In the special context of the domestic football industry being caught in an anti-corruption storm, the arrival of several of them is also of extraordinary significance.
For the working group of the Chinese Football Association, some media analysis believes that its role in the association is "transitional". Another industry insider analyzed that the new football congress may be held as soon as May this year. Therefore, the stationing of the "working group" is to a large extent to "stop the chaos" of the Chinese Football Association, and at the same time ensure that the work of the association can operate on a normal track until the Chinese Football Association successfully completes a new round of succession.
It is understood that using the time of last weekend, the Chinese Football Association has vacated a special office for the members of the working group, which also means that they will focus on the relevant work of the Chinese Football Association next. The work of the various functional departments of the association must be reported to the "working group", and specific decisions may be decided by the "working group".
Text/Reporter Xiao Zhao Coordinator/Du Rui