Drogba and Anelka are two of a number of soccer stars to have joined China's premier football competition.
Sports conglomerate IMG, which has a joint venture and represents the business interests of China's soccer league, declined to comment.
"The GASC has decided to appoint Wei Di as the new director of China's Soccer Administrative Center, " its vice-minister Cui Dalin told reporters, according to Xinhua.
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Hui is also famous for his interest in sports, bringing big-name international soccer talent such as Lucas Barrios to China.
Some were awarded for having created an earlier version of a modern sport, like China's claim to soccer or Mongolia's claim of field hockey.
Part of Beckham's new role will be to encourage China's youth to embrace soccer at a time when the country's government is attempting to grow the sport.
One must also factor in that soccer is probably the most televised sport in China, although basketball, especially with Chinese stars in foreign leagues, has exploded in programming during the past decade.
"Five or six years ago TV rights in China went for peanuts, " says Nicola Antognetti, a soccer consultant with Vantis Sports Solutions.
It said its China Railway 15th Bureau unit is in talks with the team over building a soccer stadium and that it will make an announcement when a contract is signed.
Beckham's schedule in China of meetings, photo-ops, and dinners won't likely offer many soccer-playing opportunities.
In a move to enhance its image among sports fans in China, Wahaha in January said it would become the official beverage partner of the Manchester United soccer team in the country.
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