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Chinese Football Association (CFA)
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China boss Alain Perrin sacked as head of national team following World Cup flop

National soccer team manager sacked by the China Football Association, according to reports

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Alain Perrin has paid the price for failing to guide the China men’s national team to the 2018 World Cup. Photo: AFP
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The manager of the Chinese national soccer team, Alain Perrin, has been sacked by the China Football Association, according to reports.

China Radio International reported that the 59-year-old held a meeting with the CFA yesterday where he was “clearly informed him that their co-operation would not continue” and his ill-fated tenure was ended, according to CCTV’s sports channel.

“This means Perrin was formally dismissed from the Chinese national team,” it added, saying Perrin could be entitled to three months’ salary in compensation.

READ > Against all odds, Hong Kong hold China to 0-0 draw in World Cup qualifier

The China Football Association was optimistic Perrin could oversee an upturn in the national team's fortunes when he was hired in February 2014. Photo: AFP
The China Football Association was optimistic Perrin could oversee an upturn in the national team's fortunes when he was hired in February 2014. Photo: AFP
The Frenchman was hired in February 2014 after a series of high-profile managerial failures at the helm of the men’s national team, which is currently ranked 82 in the world, below Equatorial Guinea and Haiti.
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He took China to last year’s Asian Cup quarter-finals, their best performance in more than a decade.

But results since then have faltered.

READ > 'I feel sorry for them, I'd do the same', says Hong Kong FA official as China launches Fifa protest over controversial disallowed goal

The decision comes after a high-profile draw in Hong Kong last year, a match China had to win to stand any realistic chance of making the next stage of qualifying.
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