On the afternoon of August 29, Beijing time, the Chinese Football Association held a meeting of all middle-level cadres at its headquarters in Beijing. During the meeting, the senior management of the Football Association reported that Liu Jun, chairman of the Chinese Super League Co., Ltd., who is also the deputy head of the preparatory group of the Chinese Football Federation, has been taken away by the relevant law enforcement departments for investigation, and his liuzhi procedure has been carried out smoothly. Liu Jun became the 14th most important person in Chinese football to be investigated since Li Tie, the former head coach of the national team, in November last year. In this process, four former or current chairmen of the Chinese Super League, including Yu Hongchen, Ma Chengquan, Li Yuyi, Liu Jun, etc., have been investigated and dealt with. There is no doubt that the current anti-corruption campaign in the domestic football industry is still continuing, but it is difficult to accurately estimate what impact or impact it will have on Chinese football.
It is reported that 47-year-old Liu Jun was taken away by relevant law enforcement departments on the afternoon of August 28. Prior to that, he also participated in the routine work of the preparatory group of the Chinese Football Federation that morning and discussed business matters with colleagues. However, since that afternoon, colleagues in the Chinese Super League company have not seen him again.
For those familiar with the domestic football scene, Liu Jun is no stranger. More than 10 years ago, he served as the general manager of Jiangsu Sainty Club in the Chinese Super League. At the end of 2018, he was invited by the then leader of the Chinese Football Association to participate in the early preparations of the professional league management body, namely the "Chinese Football Federation". With the 2020 season on, he teamed up with former Guangzhou City FC chairman Huang Shenghua to jointly take charge of the operation and management of the Chinese Super League. Among them, Liu Jun is mainly responsible for the business development and operation of the league. In July 2021, the preparatory group of the Chinese Football Federation was officially established, and Liu Jun was appointed as the deputy leader. Subsequently, he procedurally succeeded Li Yuyi, former vice chairman of the Chinese Football Association, as chairman of the Chinese Super League Company, and continued to be responsible for the business development and operation management of the professional league.
Since the national team head coach Li Tie was taken away for investigation on suspicion of serious violations of the law in November last year, a new wave of anti-corruption has been triggered in domestic football. By 2023, more than a dozen high-level and middle-level officials of the Chinese Football Association, as well as former heads of Chinese Super League companies, have been investigated and dealt with for suspected violations of discipline and law. Liu Jun became the first member of the current Chinese Super League to be investigated this year.
It is also understood that the three-month internal discipline rectification work of the Chinese Football Association, which was originally scheduled to end at the end of August this year, will be extended for two weeks. On the last working day of last week, the Chinese Football Association has identified Yang Xu, a member of the FA's working group, to be in charge of the management of professional leagues and Chinese Super League companies.