China chief defends "crazy" league plan

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new soccer supremo has fiercely defended a proposal to include the national under-21 team in the domestic Chinese Super League (CSL) from this season, despite derision from local media and fans.

Wei Di's proposal is aimed at giving China's future internationals more experience of training and playing together and thereby improving China's chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals.

Domestic media have poured scorn on the plan, pointing out its contradictions, pillorying Wei for being an old-fashioned adherent of the Soviet-style sport system and suggesting he must have lost his senses.

"Some journalists said I must have been kicked in the head by a donkey," Wei told Friday's Yangtse Evening News.

"But I am not insulting anybody's intelligence. This was not an off-the-cuff suggestion and it will be decided by a democratic vote."

Wei, who assumed control at the Chinese Football Association (CFA) after the arrest of his predecessor for match-fixing in January, enjoyed huge Olympic success in his previous job as the nation's head of water sports.

His plan calls for the under-21 squad to become the 17th team in the CSL, the under-19s to join division two and the under-17s to play in the third flight.

CENTRAL PLANNING

The national teams would play their games in midweek and would not appear in the league tables, although the results would count towards the points totals of clubs.