Chinese Super League (CSL) side Tianjin Teda FC announced yesterday (November 23) that the club has appointed Gao Yingqin as the new Managing Director of the club replacing Li Guangyi who had held the position for eight and a half year.

Gao Yingqin, who has a wealth of experience in company management at several subsidiaries of the Teda Group, joins the club from Teda Urban Rail Construction and Development Co. Limited, where he was the President and General Manager.

Gao, who is less well-known to the outside world and has little presence in the sport, will be initially tasked with leading the team preparing for the upcoming campaign in the 2016 season.

The announcement surprised many as, only last Saturday, Li Guangyi had helped the club unveil their first cross-province soccer base in Qinghai Province, Northwestern China. According to the original plan, Li would have been on a trip to Europe this week seeking to bring some foreign players into the club.

Tianjin Teda FC is a Tianjin-based professional soccer club in the CSL and the club had struggled to keep their place in China’s top tier soccer league since a dispute arose over the introduction of Sun Ke against their title sponsor Quanjian Group.

Source: Tianjin Daily

Proofread by John Devlin