Jose Antonio Camacho Could Be Out As Chinese National Team Coach

Although rumors have circulated that China's embattled football coach, Jose Antonio Camacho, will be fired due to the team's sluggish record during his tenure, some reports claim the Chinese FA "cannot afford to void his contract prematurely," according to the CHINA DAILY. According to the contract, the Spanish coach will be at the helm until the end of next year, with an annual income of €4.3M ($5.55M), and there is "no clause in that contract stating he must lead the team to the Asian Cup finals." That means if the CFA wanted to replace him after Friday's second qualifying match, "it would have had to pay out the remaining money," which is close to €8M ($10.4M). The CFA's major sponsor, Wanda Group, invited the coach to take over the national job in '11 and covered his payment, but it is "not known if it is willing to help the association in such a manner again" (CHINA DAILY, 3/24).