Anti-graft 'revitalizes' Chinese football: watchdog

Wang Dalei (C) and Zhang Linpeng (R) of the Chinese national soccer team arrive at Beijing International Airport on Jan. 24, 2015. The team received a warm welcome at the airport early Saturday morning after their quarter-final loss in the Asian Cup.(Photo source: Xinhua)

The Communist Party of China's disciplinary watchdog observed the anti-corruption campaign is responsible for the remarkable progress of the Chinese football team.

For once, the performance of the national team was quite impressive at the Asian Cup in Australia.

The Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection ran a commentary on its website on Saturday, saying the anti-graft campaign had "revitalized" Chinese football.

The team arrived back in Beijing from Australia on Saturday, having been beaten 0-2 by the hosts in the quarter-final, but made record by winning all three of their group matches.

The article attributed the progress to the team's head coach Alain Perrin's reform, the squad's courageous performance, and the last but not least, "the improvement of China's footballing soil."

Recent years have seen waves of campaigns against football gambling and corruption, which steered Chinese football back on to a healthy path, it said.

"The football field no longer shelters filth," the article said, adding the Chinese Super League is growing fast, attracting an average of more than 18,000 for each match, making it Asia's first and the world's 10th league in terms of attendance.

"A level playing field is vital for the sector's healthy development, the same with the economic and social development which could be devastated by corruption, the 'social tumor'," it said.