Cronulla Sharks has promoted Steve Noyce to interim chief executive officer of the embattled National Rugby League club.

Noyce, who had previously been CEO at both Wests Tigers and Sydney Roosters, takes over from stop-gap chief executive Bruno Cullen, who walked away from the club on Monday.

Cullen had been parachuted into the role by the NRL following the sacking of four key staff members as a result of a review of management procedures relating to the 2011 supplement program which is now the subject of an ASADA investigation.

While Cullen was always just a temporary option, it is believed his departure was accelerated by the new Sharks board’s decision to publicly apologise to the four sacked staffers and give them the opportunity to return to the club.

“This is a great club and it’s a real privilege to be appointed to this role,’ Noyce said in a statement.

“Whilst on one hand there appears to be many challenges, excitingly there are also many opportunities for the Sharks and I look forward to working with the amazingly dedicated on and off field teams involved here at the club.”

Sharks Chairman Damian Keogh said the appointment of leadership and stability to the club, but Noyce’s interim title means the clubs has not had a fulltime CEO since Richard Fisk was in charge in 2010.

“Steve has proved himself to be a great asset to the Sharks in his short time at the club and this promotion is in recognition of that, as well as his capability to assume more responsibility within the organisation,” Keogh said

India’s Sports Minister Ajay Maken has admitted London 2012 organisers have launched an objection to Indian opposition to Dow Chemical’s controversial sponsorship of the Olympics.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have been involved in a campaign for the American company to be dropped as an Olympic sponsor because of its link to Union Carbide, whose Indian subsidiary ran a pesticide plant in Bhopal at which a gas leak allegedly killed up to 25,000 people in 1984.  

But the issue has only really heated up since Dow stepped in last year and agreed to a £7 million ($11 million) deal to sponsor the wrap around the London 2012 Olympic Stadium. 

India did not publicly protest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when Dow were unveiled as a worldwide sponsor nearly two years ago, which London 2012 officials have made clear in a letter to the Indian High Commission in Britain.

“Through diplomatic channels, LOCOG (the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games) raised two key objections to our raising the Dow issue,” admitted Maken. 

“First they asked why the IOA had not raised the Dow issue when the agreement was finalised in July 2010, and second how could the IOA object when it had done business with the company during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.”

Dow had supplied insulation material, sold under the brand Styrofoam, for the construction of the Athletes’ Village when the Commonwealth Games were staged in New Delhi, it has been revealed following a freedom of information request in India.

But Maken insisted that they would continue to object to Dow’s involvement in the Olympics, although he priomised that India would not boycott the Games over the controversy.

“We have not thought of pulling the athletes out of the London Games,” he said. 

“We are monitoring the issue and we have conveyed our concerns to the IOC on Dow’s sponsorship bearing in mind the sentiments of the people.”

George Osborne, British Chancellor, has verified that Sunday trading hours will be extended for eight Sundays during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics so that the British economy can take advantage of the huge influx of foreign visitors to Games.

Osborne made the announcement in the 2012 Budget today, where he said that all-day trading will be allowed for eight Sundays starting on July 22 and ending on September 9.

The Olympics take place from July 27 to August 12, while the Paralympics run from August 29 to September 9 and the Chancellor said that Britain need to make the most of the opportunities provided by the Games.

“We have got the whole world coming to London and the rest of the country for the Olympics,” Osborne said.

“It would be a great shame, particularly when some of the big Olympic events are on a Sunday, if the country had a ‘closed for business’ sign on it.”

Osborne will now push through emergency legislation through Parliament over the next few days in order to lift the six-hour limit on opening hours for larger stores over the eight weekends in July, August and September.

However, the move by the Chancellor has been criticised by some, who claim that it could pave the way for longer weekend opening hours on a permanent basis.

John Hannett, the general secretary of shop workers’ union Usdaw, said: “Our members are vehemently opposed to any further deregulation of Sunday trading hours and the Government’s own consultation on this just last year showed that there is no widespread support from either retailers or the general public for change.

“Any change would fly totally in the face of the Government’s commitment to be family-friendly. To suggest that the legislation, which allows shops to open for 150 hours a week, means Britain is ‘closed for business’ is ridiculous.”

The Church of England have also criticised the move as a spokesman said: “The Church would strongly oppose any further attempts to erode the special nature of Sunday, which legislation still reflects.”

Under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, large shops over 280 square metres in England and Wales are restricted to six hours’ continuous trading between 10am and 6pm on Sundays and cannot open at all on Easter Sunday.

Some major retailers have been lobbying in Whitehall for at least five years for the restrictions to be torn up.

The stores argue that 7,500 jobs would be created, generating extra money for the economy and the Government through tax.

Tesco, Asda, IKEA and the DIY chains have thrown their weight behind the campaign in the past.

Any change though, will alarm the owners of small stores, which can open all day on Sunday and benefit from the restriction on their large rivals.

But Confederation of British Industry director-general John Cridland said that the move to help Britain’s economy benefit from London 2012 should not be criticised if it does indeed prove a temporary policy.

“I think there is a big difference between a temporary measure to try and lock in some of the spending of the thousands and thousands of international visitors who will come to Britain during the Olympics on a Sunday and a permanent change,” he said.

“If it is a permanent change we would need to consult a lot of people, the shops themselves and the workers in those shops, but a temporary change just for the Olympics – every little helps.”

Sports Authority, clinic a US sporting goods retailer, tadalafil has announced it has named Stephen Binkley Chief Merchandising Officer.

He will replace Greg Waters, formerly Executive Vice President, Chief Merchant and Chief Marketing Officer for the company who has decided to depart to pursue personal interests after 24 years with Sports Authority.

During his time with the company, Mr. Waters held several leadership roles, including Executive Vice President, Marketing and Merchandising, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Store Operations.

“Greg has been a great asset to Sports Authority and we thank him for his contributions to the company,” commented Michael Foss, Chief Executive Officer for Sports Authority. “He has played an important role in strengthening company operations and in our brand’s evolution overall. Greg will be spending the next several months aiding in the transition and we thank him for that. We wish Greg the best in all of his future endeavors.”

In his new role, Mr. Binkley will be responsible for managing merchandising and private brands for Sports Authority. Mr. Binkley previously held the position of Senior Vice President of Merchandising and Softlines. He possesses more than 25 years of retail, apparel, sportswear, footwear and hard goods experience. Prior to the position of Senior Vice President of Merchandising, he held positions as Senior Vice President, Misses Sportswear at Kohl’s, and Vice President, Home Store at Macy’s.

Mr. Foss added, “Stephen possesses significant expertise in merchandising and has shown great leadership in his time at Sports Authority. Stephen is an industry veteran with a proven ability to make strategic decisions and execute to drive business results and we are excited to have him in this new role.”

Mr. Binkley, along with Chief Marketing Officer, Paul M. Okimoto, will now report directly to Chief Executive Officer Michael Foss.

European Soccer Giants, Real Madrid, have revealed plans to build a $1 billion holiday resort in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that is due to open in January 2015.

‘Real Madrid Resort Island’ will be supported by the government of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, the club said on Thursday.

A presentation at the Bernabeu showed plans for sports facilities, a marina, luxury hotels and villas, an amusement park, a club museum and a futuristic 10,000-seat stadium with one side open to the sea.

“It is a decisive and strategic step that will strengthen our institution in the Middle East and Asia,” said Real president Florentino Perez.

The 430,000-square metre facility is expected to attract around one million visitors in 2015.

The nine time European champions said the artificial island’s location put it equidistant between Europe and the Far East, adding that more than half of their estimated 300 million followers were based in Asia.

by Ismail Uddin