LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics organisers were told on Tuesday they needed to push ahead with their preparations because time was an issue, the International Olympic Committee said.

Rio has not finalised its budget for the Olympics as well as the venues for several sports, including rugby, hockey and golf.

BERLIN, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Werder Bremen forward Marko Arnautovic scored a hat-trick to lead his team to a 4-1 Bundesliga victory at Hoffenheim on Sunday, consigning the hosts to their fourth successive loss and putting further pressure on coach Markus Babbel.

Austrians Sebastian Proedl and Arnautovic scored midway through the first half as Bremen stormed to a 2-0 lead against a toothless Hoffenheim.

BERLIN, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Champions Borussia Dortmund are determined to jerk their title defence back on track with a victory at runaway leaders Bayern Munich in Saturday’s Bundesliga derby.

Bayern are brimming with confidence, having carved out a 10-point lead over second-placed Bayer Leverkusen and 11 on Dortmund, in third.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich made sure they will go into next month’s winter break top of the table after beating ten-man Freiburg 2-0 on Wednesday to open up a 10-point lead.

Thomas Mueller’s first-half penalty and substitute Anatoliy Tymoshchuk’s 79th-minute strike gave the Bavarians, who take on champions Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, their 12th win in 14 league matches to move on to 37 points with three games left this year.

BERLIN, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich made sure they will go into next month’s winter break top of the table after beating ten-man Freiburg 2-0 on Wednesday to open up a 10-point lead.

Thomas Mueller’s first-half penalty and substitute Anatoliy Tymoshchuk’s 79th-minute strike gave the Bavarians, who take on champions Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, their 12th win in 14 league matches to move on to 37 points with three games left this year.

BERLIN (Reuters) – A plan to stage the 2020 European soccer championships across the entire continent instead of one or two countries enjoys wide support among national federations, Germany’s football association (DFB) said on Tuesday.

Ahead of two days of meetings in Brussels with European soccer’s governing body UEFA, DFB General Secretary Helmut Sandrock said they were initially surprised by UEFA boss Michel Platini’s concept.

BERLIN, Nov 27 (Reuters) – A plan to stage the 2020 European soccer championships across the entire continent instead of one or two countries enjoys wide support among national federations, Germany’s football association (DFB) said on Tuesday.

Ahead of two days of meetings in Brussels with European soccer’s governing body UEFA, DFB General Secretary Helmut Sandrock said they were initially surprised by UEFA boss Michel Platini’s concept.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Striker Mario Gomez was on target in his first league appearance since surgery in August as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich crushed Hanover 96 5-0 and extended their advantage at the top to nine points.

Superb first-half goals from Javi Martinez and Toni Kroos and another from Frenchman Franck Ribery gave the hosts a 3-0 lead at the break.

BERLIN, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Striker Mario Gomez was on target in his first league appearance since surgery in August as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich crushed Hanover 96 5-0 and extended their advantage at the top to nine points.

Superb first-half goals from Javi Martinez and Toni Kroos and another from Frenchman Franck Ribery gave the hosts a 3-0 lead at the break.

BERLIN, Nov 22 (Reuters) – It will be a family affair when Werder Bremen travel to VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday and Bremen’s iconic sports director Klaus Allofs links up once again with former Werder stalwarts Diego and Naldo having switched sides only last week.

What would have otherwise been an ordinary league match has become an emotional encounter for the new Wolfsburg sports director as well as playmaker Diego and central defender Naldo, who won league and Cup titles at the Weser stadium.