China will launch a sweeping crackdown on irregularities in football, Chinese chess, and other sports thanks to the ongoing campaign against match-fixing, gambling, and corruption, Gao Zhidan, head of the General Administration of Sport of China, said at a State Council Information Office press conference on Tuesday.

China will launch a sweeping crackdown on irregularities in football, Chinese chess, and other sports thanks to the ongoing campaign against match-fixing, gambling, and corruption, Gao Zhidan, head of the General Administration of Sport of China, said at a State Council Information Office press conference on Tuesday.

Gao noted that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the sports industry has become a new driver of economic growth, with the total scale of the industry maintaining an average annual growth rate of over 10 percent in the past five years.

"We have been steadily advancing football reform and revitalization, streamlining systems and mechanisms, and carrying out in-depth efforts against match-fixing, gambling, and corruption. Football is gradually returning to a healthy path of development," he said.

Gao emphasized that efforts are underway to promote the revitalization of football, including the establishment of a professional football league association and the implementation of separation between management and operations, with a new framework for football governance beginning to take shape.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, he added, China will continue to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership in sports, resolutely combat corruption in the sector, enhance case-based warnings and education, and restore a sound political environment in sports.

Taking the campaign against match-fixing, gambling, and corruption as an opportunity, authorities will also take strong actions to address misconduct in football, Chinese chess, and other sports, while launching special rectification campaigns in marathon running, trail running, and other events to safeguard order in the sports industry.

Global Times