Lawmakers on Thursday criticized the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) for incurring years-long debts to contractors, after officials at the soccer governing body asked for a government bailout.
The organization is carrying about NT$90 million (US$2.95 million) in debt, as revealed by lawmakers during recent legislative sessions.
The CTFA is seeking financial restructuring through austerity programs, including the termination of some youth soccer programs, it said.
Photo: CNA
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said that he has ordered the body to revamp its fiscal management and trim spending.
Lin said the Sports Administration, as an agency under the Ministry of Education, has allocated NT$26 million for the CTFA this year, adding that soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, provided US$1.3 million to the organization.
New Power Party (NPP) Chairwoman and Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) said she has received numerous complaints about alleged mismanagement financial troubles at the CTFA.
She said on social media on Friday that the complaints came from referees, contractors and travel agencies, among others.
The CTFA has “delayed paying wages and bills, and is persistently in debt,” Wang said, adding that money has been owed for months on services such as travel, accommodation, site rentals, equipment and physiotherapy.
“The CTFA told their debtors that the Sports Administration was to blame,” she said.
Wang said the CTFA had mismanaged its finances and failed to take remedial measures when financial problems surfaced.
Accounting reports showed that the CTFA was NT$8 million in debt in 2017, which rose to NT$31 million in 2018 and NT$50 million in 2020, Wang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐) also questioned sports officials on the matter.
Lin told Cheng that the Sports Administration has asked the CTFA to draft a financial restructuring plan, and said he would monitor the situation while seeking ways to better support the nation’s soccer programs.
New CTFA chairman Wang Lin-hsiang (王麟祥) said he met with government officials for guidance and to request funds, and vowed to balance the budget within four years through austerity programs.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
RSS