China investigates two football association staffers

SHANGHAI: Two senior staffers of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) have been put under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law, China's sports regulator said on Saturday (Jul 22).

The staffers are Qi Jun, head of the CFA's strategic planning department, and Tan Hai, director of the CFA's technical department, China's General Administration of Sports said in two statements.

The administration did not give details of the investigations or the violations. Reuters was not able to reach Qi or Tan for comment and the CFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The investigations are the latest in a string into CFA officials after a recent anti-corruption investigation of Chinese football.

China's men's national team, despite investment, an array of coaches, both foreign and domestic, has only qualified for one World Cup, in 2002, when they lost all three matches and failed to score a goal.

The women's team however, have a much better record and begin their World Cup campaign on Saturday against Denmark in Perth, Australia.