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

London organising committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) chairman Sebastian Coe has insisted there’ll be no airport chaos during the summer sporting extravaganza.

“There won’t be chaos, (London’s) Heathrow airport operates at full capacity all the time,’ he told a press conference. ‘We have a very good operational plan and Heathrow will be operating a very effective service and will be the main port of entry.”

He also noted that a temporary structure was being put in place to “ease some of the capacity during the games.”

Four major airlines – British Airways, British Midland International, EasyJet and Virgin Atlantic – on Saturday urged the British government to take urgent measures to prevent congestion of British air space during the games to be held from July 27 to August 12.

Coe also said there would be no changes to the original budgets for the games – the operating budget of $2.38 billion managed by the organising committee and another of $11.1 billion for infrastructure projects.

“We are in good shape … given the economy we are dealing with globally,” he noted.

Earlier this month, British lawmakers voiced fears that the public money allocated for the Games was close to being used up.

by Ismail Uddin

The Confederation of North Central America and the Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today that IMG has secured an exclusive agreement to market the international media rights for all of the confederation’s events from 2015, cialis including the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2015 and the CONCACAF Champions’ League.

The deal, which also covers the CONCACAF Under-20 and Under-17 Championships in both men’s and women’s disciplines, the CONCACAF Women’s Championship USA 2014 and the UNCAF Central American Cup Tigo 2014 USA, will see IMG distribute worldwide media rights outside of CONCACAF’s pre-existing territories.

Michael Mellor, Senior Vice President, Head of Football, IMG Media, said: “The success of the U.S., Costa Rica and Mexico at the World Cup is testament to the high standard of football in the region and will ensure increased interest in CONCACAF events around the world going forward.

“Our global network and expertise will help grow both revenue and awareness of the tournaments as the appetite for competitive international and top club football events continues to grow.”

CONCACAF General Secretary, Enrique Sanz, said: “It’s great to note the growing interest in viewing our matches on screens not just within the CONCACAF region, but also globally. The new markets set to be reached with this deal are yet another testament to the quality and potential of football in our region.”

The latest edition of the Central American Cup – the first ever to be disputed on U.S. soil — gets underway at the beginning of next month, when Costa Rica and Nicaragua contest the opening game on Wednesday, September 3 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. The final is set for September 13 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.