The financial crisis has raised fears that many countries could enter recession. One industry that has already been affected is sport:

2012 OLYMPICS:

The credit crunch could have a silver lining for the hard-pressed organisers of the London 2012 Olympics who can now scale back their grand designs with the full blessing of the public and the IOC.

The slump in property prices, which could damage the chances of recouping money from the athletes' village after the Games, has also resulted in the number of post-Olympics apartments being reduced from 4,200 to 3,000. The economic downturn could allow the government to play "hard-ball" with the IOC over the scale of the Games and the contractors over price.

BASEBALL:

The sale of the Chicago Cubs may be delayed by the crisis unless owner Tribune Co is willing to accept a lower price for the baseball team.

BASKETBALL:

The NBA has been weathering the global financial crisis by cutting the number of pre-season games in Europe this year, Commissioner David Stern told reporters earlier this month. The league was playing only four games in four European cities in 2008, down from seven in six cities in 2007. Stern also announced the league would lay off about 80 employees, or 9 percent of its work force, media reports said.

GOLF:

The PGA said last month golf's special bond with the corporate world and wide fan base put it in a strong position to ride out the current financial crisis.

MOTOR RACING:

The FIA, Formula One's governing body, proposed last week radical cost-cutting measures, including the possible use of standard engines from 2010, to help teams survive the global financial storm.

Former champions Williams, who made a 21.4 million pound ($37.54 million) loss in 2007 and are sponsored by both bailed-out British bank RBS and companies owned by troubled Icelandic retailer Baugur, are now the only team not funded by a manufacturer or a billionaire. The FIA said there is a real danger that in some cases subsidies will cease.

The FFSA (French Motorsport Federation) said last week that it had decided to cancel the 2009 French Formula One Grand Prix for financial reasons. France, who invented the grand prix, was only absent in 1955 from the Formula One calendar.

SOCCER:

European soccer clubs that are not bankrolled by wealthy owners are feeling the pinch from the economic downturn and could suffer further, at least in the medium term, as sponsorship and ticket sales fall.

David Triesman, the chairman of the English FA, has said that English soccer was collectively 3 billion pounds ($5.23 billion) in debt and that he could not rule out a top club collapsing.

However, English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said earlier this month that the structure of the game was sustainable despite the global financial crisis.

Possible troubles:

Some question marks were raised over the future of Manchester United's record 56.5 million pounds agreement with American International Group after the insurance company's bail-out by the U.S government.

Fellow Premier League club West Ham United are without a shirt sponsor following the collapse of tour operator XL Leisure Group and promoted West Bromwich Albion has also failed to find a replacement for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile.

Newcastle United was close to losing its shirt deal with Northern Rock bank, which had to be rescued by the British government, and Lazio, traditionally Italy's sixth-largest club, were also without a shirt sponsor.