What does this mean for SA teams?

I've been glued to my television set this past week, often sitting open-mouthed as I have watched the world economy shatter into little bits and wondered time and again how the heck we got to all this.

This economic fall-out and all the consequences it has on the world and South Africans who, in the large, have also been living above ourselves since the boom started in about 2004, has been alarming.

And as we all know now, it is not only the banks, the insurance companies, the housing markets and our everyday savings that are under threat.

Imagine my surprise when I scanned the newspapers and our sports wires (the place we get much of the stories in the Daily News) and read about the credit crunch and how it could even affect some of the richest clubs in England.

According to the report, English soccer has amassed debts of about ?3-billion (R46-billion) at all levels of the game and a top club could fold in the present climate. That news came from the horse's mouth - English Football Association chairperson David Triesman.

Triesman said that nearly a third of the overall debt - ?950-million was owed by England's top four clubs - Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal and that on average the wage bills were climbing by as much as 12 percent a year.

Besides these top four clubs, news came this week that West Ham could be in trouble as they are owned by Icelandic banker Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. And as we all know that country is currently in crisis with their second biggest bank in receivership.

My point is that with all the woes and financial disasters, who knows how far this is going to trickle down and affect sports bodies and clubs as things get worse. And in my limited knowledge of economics and finance, they will get worse, believe me.

But as this is a sporting column, let us go back once again to the remarks made by the England FA chairperson.

It seems unbelievable that a club like Man United could go under, what with their amazing popularity around the world, their branding, their marketing and the money they rake in through sponsorships and ticket sales.

But just look at how close they came to losing that sponsorship. I did not even know what AIG stands for - the lettering on their famous red shirts. But just two weeks ago I found out they were an international insurance company who were in the dwang and had to to be saved by the US government.

That shows you just how precarious things are. If a bank like Lehmann brothers, with a proud record of 150 years in business folds, what is stopping a club like United, or Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or any others from going under?

It seems inconceivable but things have changed so much in the world in the past couple of weeks, that right now, nothing would surprise me.

And to take it more locally, how many local clubs could suffer as the world economic meltdown continues. Who knows what might happen to companies like Sasol, who sponsor the Springboks, if they find their shares crumbling?

As someone once said, this is too ghastly to contemplate.