By Chia Han Keong

THE international sports industry is on the ropes, having been repeatedly hit by the global financial meltdown.

Professional sports teams are staring at declining sponsorship and fan attendance - both of which are crucial to their survival.

In Europe, sky-high debts from frivolous spending are threatening to engulf football clubs which have previously enjoyed easy credit.

In some instances, shirt sponsors have gone bust, robbing teams of vital sources of income.

Stadium construction is likely to be delayed. Even the 2012 London Olympics is in jeopardy of not getting enough sponsors.

In the United States, where athletes receive million-dollar wages and ticket prices are spiralling upwards, bleak times are predicted as companies scale down on sponsorships and fans stop going to pricey games.

In Asia and Singapore, sports bodies are also tightening their belts, although the outlook is somewhat rosier.

While the Singapore Athletic Association believes it is still too early to panic over sponsorship pullouts, SingaporeSailing had, two weeks ago, gone about planning how it should tackle worst-case scenarios for the next four years.

Said its president Low Teo Ping: "It's never too early to be concerned. No matter how small a sponsorship may be, it is still precious. We have to find ways to stretch every dollar of our sponsorship, and give value for money to our sponsors as well."

Both associations, however, will be far more cautious about participating in new tournaments or events, as it will add to their financial burden during these testy times.

Sports recession-proof? Far from it.

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