The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is casting its net far and wide in the search for a new head coach of the country's women's team.

The Steel Roses were silver medallists at the 1996 Olympics, runners-up at the 1999 Women's World Cup and won the Asian Cup seven times in a row from 1986 to 1999 but have struggled over the past couple of years.

They failed to advance from the group stage at last year's World Cup and manager Shui Qingxia, who led the team to their first Asian Cup title in 16 years in 2022, was sacked in November after they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

The position is open to all nationalities but "the applicants' age should not be over 60," a CFA statement said according to Xinhua news agency.

Applicants must also be aware of "international and Asian football development trends", it added. REUTERS