BEIJING China have barred transfers of their soccer players to foreign clubs this year to ensure they are available for World Cup qualifiers, China Football Association spokesman Feng Jingmin said on Wednesday.

"We are temporarily stopping Chinese football players from going abroad," he told Reuters.

"The China Football Association supports players going abroad but this year is a World Cup qualifying year and we are asking them to put national interests first."

China have never qualified for the World Cup finals and are desperate to win a place for the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea.

They have relatively few players with foreign clubs, whose managers and coaches regularly complain about losing players for important games because they are needed by their national team.

But the ban will at least delay a deal to take two Dalian side players to English first division club Crystal Palace who already boast the services of Chinese star Fan Zhiyi.

Palace agreed last month to pay 2.8 million pounds ($4.19 million) for defenders Sun Jihai and Li Ming.

The London club were also negotiating for a third Dalian player, Zhang Enhua, currently on loan to fellow first division side Grimsby Town.

(Reuter)