Australian David Moffett has been confirmed as the new chief executive of Sport England.

The 54-year-old was previously chief executive of the Australian National Rugby League.

He resigned from that position on Wednesday and his appointment to the �140,000-a-year Sport England post was confirmed by Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Moffett will take charge of an organisation which distributes hundreds of millions of pounds of Government and Lottery money.

Sports minister Richard Caborn has been searching for a new chief executive for the body since Derek Casey resigned in June.

"The new regional structure that Sport England will have needs a dynamic leader and David will fill that role perfectly," said Caborn.

"He has an impressive track record of achievement in sport and the wider world and I look forward to working closely with him at such an exciting and challenging time for sport in England."

Yorkshireman

Moffett was actually born in Doncaster and spent his childhood in Kenya but emigrated to Brisbane in 1963.

He first came to prominence as head of the New Zealand Rugby Union before being head-hunted by the NRL.

An NRL spokesman said: "The NRL recognises the significant contribution made by Mr Moffett during two important seasons for the game and wishes him well in the future."

Moffett has not been a stranger to high-profile jobs in English sport, having been on the shortlist for the job of Football Association chief executive.

He had twice tried to quit his NRL post earlier this season, once when he was ordered not to go on a mid-season holiday to Europe to watch the Tour de France.