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January 18, 2013

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Home » Sports » Soccer

Wei quits as CFA boss after 3 mediocre years

WEI Dei, the head of the Chinese Football Association, is set to be replaced after three lackluster years.

Wei, 58, is likely to be replaced by Zhang Jian, director of Policy and Regulation Department of the State General Administration of Sport (SGAS), according to a senior SGAS official who asked not to be named.

Wei took office at the beginning of 2010 after CFA vice presidents Nan Yong and Yang Yimin were taken away by the police for their involvement in corruption and match-fixing.

Wei, hailed as a "firefighter" at that time, showed his ability in nation-wide crackdown on corruption and the running of the Chinese Super League, which had been at the edge of collapse.

However, a series of poor results by the national team led to criticism. During Wei's tenure, China failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 London Olympic Games.

At the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, China was ousted after the group stage, and the U19 and U17 sides were eliminated at the Asian youth championships without a single win.

The women's national team missed out on the World Cup for the first time as well as the London Olympic Games.

Local media also blamed him for replacing native coach Gao Hongbo with Spanish Jose Antonio Camacho just before the World Cup qualifiers, saying Wei's decision led to China's early exit.

Wei had been the director of the Water Sports Administrative Center before he took the helm of the CFA.




 

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