China sentences ex-soccer chief to life in prison in latest crackdown on sports corruption

Hong Kong CNN — The former head of China's official soccer association has been sentenced to life in prison by a court in the central Chinese province of Hubei, in the latest crackdown on the country's corruption-plagued professional football league. The ex-soccer chief, Chen Xuyuan, was jailed on Tuesday alongside multiple senior sporting executives, according to state media, following a months-long investigation. Despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping's vision to turn the country into a soccer superpower, its development of high-level professional soccer has been mired by poor financial decision making and deep-rooted corruption. Chen is among a host of soccer…