Cai Zhenghua in Dalian, Liaoning province, in this Sept 2, 2013 file photo. [Photo/icpress.cn]

XIANGHE, Hebei Province - China's vice-sports minister and ex-table tennis player Cai Zhenhua was elected president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Tuesday.

In the first reshuffle of the CFA executive board in a decade, Cai was elected to replace the 75-year-old Yuan Weimin, who had remained as CFA president since 1992.

Cai, 53, won four world championships titles in his playing days and achieved greater success as a coach. He brought the Chinese men's table tennis team back to the top after he took over in 1991, and laid the foundation for China's dominance in world championships and Olympic Games in the past two decades.

Cai was promoted to the vice-presient of the State General Administration of Sports in 2007.