The Russian first division is in danger of losing clubs to bankruptcy, following a soccer boom that was largely financed by the boom in Russian natural resources. That is in retreat. GDP fell in 2009 after years of stellar growth, and the impact is already being felt in soccer. FK Moskva folded last month after NorNikel withdrew its sponsorship. That completed the shameful collapse of Torpedo Moscow of which FK Moskva was once a splinter.

The Russian top flight looks as though it will kick off this weekend with the full complement of teams, but it's as well to keep checking as the financial winter bites.

Almost every club is dependent on a patron, usually a commodities company backed by an oligarch (FK Moskva's future was first cast in doubt in February 2007 when Mikhail Prokhorov, a keen soccer fan and now Russia's richest man, left NorNikel, intent on separating his assets from those of his longtime partner Vladimir Potanin), the local government or some combination of the two.