Sporting briefs

GERMANY: Germany will take on Ecuador in May and the United States in June during an 11-day US trip. The three-times world and European champions will play Ecuador in Boca Raton, Florida, on May 29, a week after arriving as part of the centennial anniversary celebrations for the US federation. They will play former coach Juergen Klinsmann’s US team in Washington on June 2 before returning to Germany four days later.

STUTTGART: Stuttgart president Gerd Mauser has promised to loos-en the purse strings in the summer in a bid to restore the club to their former glory. The Swabians spent just €300,000 on new players last summer and are on course to post losses for the 2012/13, but Mauser has promised funds will be made available for bolstering the side.

HEGELER: Bayer Leverkusen have extended the contract of midfielder Jens Hegeler by two years until 2017. Hegeler, who turns 25 today, came through the youth ranks with the club and has shown his commit-ment by penning a new deal.

FULHAM: Fulham’s Premier League clash against Chelsea has been rearranged for Wednesday, April 17 after the original match was postponed due to the Blues’ FA Cup commitments. The original encoun-ter was scheduled for March 10 but was postponed as Chelsea travelled to Man. United in their sixth-round tie. The midweek meeting at Craven Cottage was originally due for TV coverage but the game will no longer be shown live.

JOSUE: Wolfsburg have released Brazilian midfielder Josue from his contract with immediate effect, enabling him to complete a move to Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro. Josue is set to sign a two-year contract with the Brazilian club this weekend.

U-21 FRIENDLIES: Austria vs Slovakia 1-0; England vs Romania 3-0; Spain vs Norway 5-2.

WOMEN’S U-16 FRIENDLY: Azerbaijan vs Malta 0-1.

U-19 FRIENDLY: Malta vs Switzerland 0-5.