The Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) will elect a new chairman in a few weeks but so far, just one applicant that has completed the registration. In a post on the CTFA website on Sunday, Chang Tsan is the only name currently listed for the role.

Chang is a media executive who has worked for ET Today and EBC. From a 足球perspective, Chang is both the chairman of the Chinese Taipei Youth Football Association and Valkyrie FC, who compete in the top tier of Taiwanese women’s football. In 2023, he also launched GoGoal, which is the only football-specific website in the country.

The previous CTFA chairman resigned in October after mens national team coach, Huang Che-ming quit his own role in protest at what he saw as serious administrative mismanagement within Taiwanese football.

The departure of Huang was one of many sudden departures in a five month window that also included Gary White (the previous mens coach before Huang), Chan Hiu Ming (the womens’ national team coach) and Mehmet Fatih Kale (the national team director).

In his proposals, Chang stresses a number of key areas for improvement that include;

• Greater opportunities for youth participation, particularly in rural areas.
• Increased financial transparency within the CTFA
• A training pipeline for retired players so they can become coaches, referees or administrators.
• Building new football facilities across the country.
• Expanding both the top tiers of the mens and women’s domestic leagues to ten teams and creating a pathway towards professionalism.
• Refocusing CTFA budgeting so that they can better benefit the national team set-ups.
• Better communication with overseas based national team players

The new CTFA chairman will be confirmed at the organization’s next meeting on December 20th but as it stands, Chang will likely start 2026 as the man in the top chair of Taiwanese football.

Photo Credit: Lin Hsin-nan (ETtoday)