The British government is discussing whether an escalation of the swine flu crisis could lead to football matches and other sporting events being cancelled.
Organisers of the Twenty20 World Cup in England are already in talks with health officials about how the cricket tournament will proceed if the virus spreads. Twelve teams from across the world are due to play in London and Nottingham during the event from June 5-21.
"The future of the tournament depends on what level it escalates to and whether or not a global event can carry on," tournament director Steve Elworthy told The Associated Press on Friday. "The next scenario (is getting a plan B), you've got to take into consideration all of the teams and all the staff involved.
"Delivering the event would be key, but the primary concern would be the health of those involved."
Monitoring the situation
England and Wales Cricket Board chief medical officer Nick Peirce is monitoring the situation and consulting with the International Cricket Council and the government.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman Michael Ellam said there was no immediate threat to sports events, but that the issue was being reviewed.
The health ministry confirmed that discussions are taking place, but said the spread of the outbreak was not yet considered serious enough to merit action.
Football matches could be cancelled or played in stadiums without fans to reduce the risk of spreading the flu.
"Of course this is being looked at, as a whole range of issues are looked at," Ellam said. "But, the situation at the moment is ... that there are no restrictions related to mass gatherings."
Confirmed cases
As of yesterday afternoon, Britain had 11 confirmed cases of the swine flu.
The first case of human-to-human transmission of the virus within Britain was confirmed yesterday in Scotland.
"It is far too early to consider restricting mass gatherings although obviously this is an option open to us if the situation were to deteriorate," the Scottish government said in a statement to the AP.