The new head of China's soccer federation has pledged to attack corruption and lift the Asian sporting power's lowly international ranking.

Wei Di said Tuesday the widely disparaged Chinese Football Association faces numerous "difficult hurdles," starting with restoring its public image.

Wei says the leadership must eliminate cheating and bribery. He also says "we should also look to our problems as a chance to start anew."

A sweeping probe of match fixing and bribery allegations has netted more than a dozen players and officials, including Wei's predecessor Nan Yong.

Soccer is widely popular in China, even though the men's national team is ranked No. 97 in the world.