Song Kai has been elected as the new President of the Chinese Football Association following a series of corruption scandals ©CFA

New Chinese Football Association (CFA) President Song Kai has pledged that the organisation will be "more transparent" following a series of corruption scandals.

Song was elected in the wake of the arrest of former CFA vice-president Du Zhaocai earlier this month on charges of bribery. 

"We will try our best to build a more united, more hardworking, more open, more transparent and more courageous CFA in the future," Song told official Chinese State news agency Xinhua.

Since 2016, Song has been in charge of the Liaoning Province Sports Bureau in Northern China.

The 58-year-old is credited with improving standards in  football, basketball and volleyball in the region during his tenure.

Former striker Sun Wen, named joint FIFA Women’s Player of the 20th Century, is the only vice-president to retain her position after the CFA elections.

Legendary Chinese player Sun Wen has been re-elected as a CFA vice-president - the only one to hang on to her position amid a massive cull of former officials ©Getty Images
Legendary Chinese player Sun Wen has been re-elected as a CFA vice-president - the only one to hang on to her position amid a massive cull of former officials ©Getty Images

Former CFA vice-president Gao Hongbo has been appointed technical director of the association.

Yuan Yongqing, a former basketball official elected as vice-president is also to serve as CFA secretary general.

Another vice-president Yang Xu, a sports journalist with Xinhua, has been given the job of supervising China's professional football leagues.

A new 20-member CFA Executive Committee includes  women's midfielder Wang Shuang, who played 123 times for China, and former men's national team captain Zheng Zhi. 

Last month, former CFA President Chen Xuyuan faced charges that he used his position to "seek benefits for others," and "illegally accept other people's property and possessions,".

It has been estimated that more than a dozen football officials are under investigation for financial irregularities and corruption.

China's women won the Asian Games bronze medal at Hangzhou 2022, bouncing back from a disappointing FIFA Women's World Cup, which included losing 6-1 to England ©Getty Images
China's women won the Asian Games bronze medal at Hangzhou 2022, bouncing back from a disappointing FIFA Women's World Cup, which included losing 6-1 to England ©Getty Images

China went out of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after losing 6-1 to England in their final group match but won the Asian Games bronze medal at Hangzhou 2022.

The national men's team has not qualified for the final stages of the FIFA World Cup since 2002 in Japan and South Korea when they lost all three of their group matches.

They are set to enter the qualifying stages for the 2026 tournament to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next month and have been drawn alongside South Korea, Thailand and Singapore,

Matches are due to begin on November 16.