Chinese Football Association’s Ex-Party Chief Pleads Guilty to Bribery

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Ma Chengquan (left) and Du Zhaocai.

Another Chinese soccer official has had their day in court, following investigations that have ensnared more than a dozen senior-level soccer officials, coaches and executives in the corruption-plagued sport.

Du Zhaocai, ex- Communist Party chief of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), pleaded guilty on Wednesday to taking more than 43.4 million yuan ($6.1 million) in bribes, according to a statement from Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court in Central China’s Hubei province.

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Du Zhaocai, ex-Communist Party chief of the Chinese Football Association, pleaded guilty to taking over 43.4 million yuan ($6.1 million) in bribes.
The crackdown on corruption in Chinese soccer, which began in 2022 with the investigation of former national team coach Li Tie, has implicated at least 14 high-ranking officials and executives.
Every chairman of the Chinese Super League since its 2006 inception has been investigated for graft, with five found guilty and imprisoned.

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Who’s Who

Chinese Super League Co. Ltd.: Chinese Super League Co. Ltd. (CSL) was established in 2006 and has seen every one of its six former chairmen up to 2023 investigated for graft. Five of these former chairmen have been found guilty of corruption. Recent sentences include former chairman Ma Chengquan (11 years, three months) and Yu Hongchen (13 years). The latest investigations are part of a broader anti-corruption crackdown in Chinese soccer.

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What Happened When

November 2022：: Investigation began into Li Tie, former head coach of the Chinese national men’s soccer team.

March 2023：: Ma Chengquan’s immediate predecessor Yu Hongchen was sentenced to 13 years behind bars.

August 2023：: Sentencing of Liu Jun, the then-serving CSL chairman, who fell under investigation.

2024-08-19：: Ma Chengquan’s successor Li Yuyi received an 11-year term.

2024-08-21：: Former chairman of the Chinese Super League Co. Ltd. (CSL), Ma Chengquan, was sentenced to 11 years and three months in jail and a fine of 8 million yuan.