THE Chinese Football Association (CFA), the nation’s soccer governing body, has been officially separated from the country’s sports watchdog, ending its long maligned involvement with the administrative body.

    Under a new plan, announced in Beijing yesterday, the CFA will leave the State General Administration of Sports (GAS), the country’s sports ministry, gaining autonomy over its structure, budget, human resources and international relations.

    The CFA will become a financially transparent non-governmental non-profit organization overseeing the development of soccer, according to the plan.

    Its management will include soccer professionals and representatives from the GAS, regional soccer associations and private soccer leagues.

    An overall reform plan was released in March, which included a series of measures to boost soccer development in the world’s most populous nation.

    China has performed poorly on the pitch for more than a decade; the last time China’s men’s national team made it to the final stage of the World Cup was in 2002.

    (SD News)