The suspended Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) appointed YURI GANUS as its new director general on Thursday, "part of Moscow's push to rehabilitate its tarnished sporting image and overturn a ban on most of its track-and-field athletes competing internationally." RUSADA unanimously elected Ganus, 53, who "sat on the board of Russian sports publication Sovetsky Sport," and said that he wanted to "swiftly restore trust in Russia's anti-doping system" (REUTERS, 8/31). ... The Australian Football League unveiled Geelong Football GM STEVE HOCKING as its new head of football operations, a replacement for SIMON LETHLEAN. Hocking told Geelong he will "remain with the club throughout its finals campaign, and will pick up the role with the AFL after that." AFL CEO GILLON MCLACHLAN vowed on the day that he announced Lethlean's departure that the next football operations boss would "come from a club" (THE AGE, 8/31). ... A-League side Adelaide United has been left without a CEO "less than six weeks from the start" of the season following the resignation of GRANT MAYER, who will become CEO of the South Australian Jockey club on completion of his duties at Adelaide United on Sept. 27. The club will "search for a replacement before the start of the season" on Oct. 6. Mayer joined Adelaide in Oct. '15 and "helped oversee the club's championship success just seven months later" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/1). ... REON EDWARDS was confirmed as the chair of New Zealand Rugby League at its August meeting. Edwards, a former Canterbury Rugby League chair who has served on the NZRL board since '15, had been working in an interim capacity after GARRY FISSENDEN resigned in June. New Zealand will co-host the Rugby League World Cup, which "gets under way at the end of October" (STUFF, 8/31). ... League Championship side Barnsley Chair MAURICE WATKINS announced he will leave the club and its board. The former ManU director and lawyer was appointed as chair in May '13 (BBC, 8/31).
