Sports authorities map out measures in fight against corruption and match-fixing

Chinese sports authorities have vowed to stamp out corruption and match-fixing amid a massive anti-corruption drive in the country.

The Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) Monday published a feedback the State General Administration of Sports (GASC) made to a discipline inspection in 2014. In the feedback, the GAS detailed measures it will take to correct problems identified during the inspection.

"Athlete recruitment and referee appointments will be conducted under open and transparent supervision", in order to prevent corruption and match-fixing, said the statement.

Chinese sports officials had more influence than their counterparts overseas through the top-down management system, which allowed them to screen and train medalists for competitions. A number of malpractice cases and violations were discovered during the CCDI inspection.

Measures will also be taken to punish illegal practices with severity and transparency, said the GASC.

"The GASC will join hands with judicial departments to fight against various kinds of illegal practices in sport," added the statement.

Gold medals won in big events like the Olympic Games and National Games can usually boost sports officials' political credentials and bring economic returns as well, which has motivated some athletes and coaches to pursue good results at the expense of sportsmanship and fair-play principle, said the GASC.

"The parcipating teams will no longer be ranked by the medals they win at the National Games in the future", in a bid to avoid the blind pursuit of medals, said the statment.x "The performance of the sports administration will be assessed on multiple criteria, including public participation in sports and cost efficiency of public sports investments."

The GASC also announced to relinquish its power in approving commercial sporting events and events organized by the public, in response to criticism over a lack of transparency in the approval of events. But the hosting rights over the National Games, games bearing national interests, and special games, still need approval from the GASC.