Chinese players paid large bribes for places at the national football team's training camp, and even bigger ones to play in international matches, according to a report in a local government-run newspaper.
The allegations this week in Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post are the latest to rock the scandal-plagued Chinese Football Association, whose top official was replaced this month after he and two others were questioned by police about match fixing.
According to the Post, a single trip to the national youth squad's camp cost 80,000 yuan ($12,000), while a place at the adult team's camp was priced at 100,000 yuan ($15,000), the Oriental Morning Post said in a report this week.
A call-up to an actual official match required a bribe of 200,000 yuan ($30,000), the paper said.
National team appearances enhanced not only players' prestige, but also their pocketbooks, offering added leverage in salary negotiations with their professional teams while improving chances of a lucrative move abroad.
The Post did not say to whom the bribes were paid, although football association officials exercise broad powers over staff and coaching decisions.
An association spokesman reached by telephone Wednesday said he would first have to ask higher ranking officials for permission to comment on the report.
Investigators launched a drive against match fixing and corruption last year following complaints from state leaders over poor performance by the national team, which now ranks No. 97 in the world.
Last month, 16 team officials and others were arrested on suspicion of bribing or threatening players and referees to determine the outcome of games they had bet on.
Despite its woes, the top-tier, 16-team China Super League hit an attendance record average of 16,300 a game last season. Sponsors Nike and Pirelli have made a combined annual commitment of $22 million to sponsor the league.
The large sums involved in the Chinese game could create new opportunities for corruption, Sports Minister Liu Peng warned at a national meeting on Tuesday.
"We should keep a firm resolve to fight corruption in soccer and regulate the sports," Liu was quoted as saying by the official China Daily newspaper.
"We have no mercy for those who break the law through match manipulation and gambling," Liu said
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