The Ministry of Sports on Wednesday night called for the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) to address issues in Taiwanese soccer after national manager Huang Che-ming on Tuesday resigned following Taiwan’s elimination in AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
Taiwan on Tuesday were thrashed 6-1 by Thailand in their final Group D tie at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Taiwan finished with no points, after losing all four of their matches, eliminating them from qualifying for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.
Huang made his surprise resignation at a post-match news conference, following three losses since he took over the team from English coach Gary White in August.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Huang — a former national team player and head coach for Taiwan Football Premier League club Taipower in Kaohsiung — said that despite the squad’s efforts, the CTFA did not provide them the support, resources and training facilities they needed to succeed.
“This is difficult for me to accept, so I decided to resign, hoping for a good coach to take over and improve our national squad,” he said.
In a follow-up interview, Huang said the CTFA would not add the players he wanted to his roster, and failed to perform due diligence on squad members, citing a naturalized player training for the team who was recovering from a leg injury preventing him from playing in the Thailand match.
He also had difficulty calling on Taiwanese playing in other countries, he added.
“It pained me that we represent Taiwan, but could not train on a proper pitch,” he said, adding that in the past few days they were forced to train at Taipei’s Yingfeng Riverside Park, a recreational pitch.
“Why could we not train at a professional-level pitch, like this one, Taipei Municipal Stadium, or at a university, while Thailand trained on the pitch at National Chengchi University?” he said.
Taiwan captain Chen Po-liang said he was shocked to hear of Huang’s resignation.
“He did not get the respect he deserves,” Chen said. “As players, we also do not feel good that we worked so hard to prepare for matches, but ... did not receive the support [from the CTFA] that we needed as the squad representing Taiwan.”
While he admitted that the team did not perform at the level they had hoped, he said he felt like they were being bullied.
“We did not receive the proper respect and support we needed... It is like we are being bullied, and neglected, even when playing for the national squad,” he said.
Huang had told players that the resources he was promised by the CTFA were not delivered, he added.
Pundits and fans lashed out at the CTFA for the perceived disarray in the governing body, while the Ministry of Sports demanded that the CTFA submit a report within three days explaining the issues and how it would improve the situation.
The ministry said it would monitor the CTFA’s progress on the matter and implement a mechanism for better scrutiny and review of problems as needed, urging the CTFA to work to regain the trust of players and fans.
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