Only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have more online supporters in German football. For Holger Tromp, communications director at Bayer 04, this position is confirmation of the route taken: "We've been investing in the digital world for years and are following a clear plan with a focus on growth and building the brand. We are happy that this strategy, with its creative and valuable content, has succeeded and thereby shown constantly increasing numbers and support. It also serves as inspiration to continue to win over our supporters regionally and internationally for the long term."
On 20 August 2010 it was a case of 'Bayer 04 goes Twitter'. That was the start of the Black and Red social media journey. Bayer 04 started the club’s Facebook channel shortly after that and now have over 2.8 million fans on it. Instagram followed in 2014 and we broke the one million mark in the Bundesliga in 2020 and now have 1.8 million followers. The social media landscape for Bayer 04 was completed two years ago with the addition of Snapchat, YouTube, LinkedIn and most recently TikTok.
Above all, Bayer 04 developed a clear digital strategy internationally early on and has now been communicating to specific target groups for years in four languages – German, English, Spanish and Chinese (Sina Weibo, Douyin, WeChat). The Werkself English-language Twitter channel now has almost 400,000 subscribers and counts amongst the most quoted in international football online. The creative and bold content plus strong community management has seen Leverkusen develop a USP in North America.
Across all platforms and channels, Bayer 04 now has a billion digital contacts per year. 40,000 items are produced each year in the newsroom in Leverkusen and through international partners – including high-end productions like the TV documentary on Kai Havertz (now up to 2.3 million viewers on YouTube). Viral highlights including the flag quiz with Lukas Hradecky or short videos of players like Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Bayer 04 Legends have now been seen millions of times. In addition, Bayer 04 regularly creates and posts content on social media channels with almost all partners and sponsors.
The Bayer 04 social media channels including followers:
- Facebook: 2.84 million (since 2010)
- Instagram: 1.86 million (since 2014)
- Sina Weibo: 1.71 million (since 2018)
- TikTok: 685,000 (since 2020)
- Twitter DE: 429,000 (since 2010)
- Twitter EN: 398,000 (since 2015)
- Twitter ES: 145,000 (since 2015)
- Douyin: 77,000 (since 2020)
- YouTube: 57,000 (since 2018)
- Snapchat: 63,000 (since 2016)
- WeChat: 50,000 (since 2018)
- LinkedIn: 7,500 (since 2020)
Bayer 04 and Olympiacos had only met twice before the current UEFA Champions campaign. After the encounter on Matchday 7 of this season’s league phase, the Werkself travel to face the Greek side for the second time in just four weeks for the knockout play-off first leg. The Black and Reds were dominant for large spells in mid-January but lost 2-0 after missing a number of presentable chances. The Werkself aim to do better on Wednesday night to “seize the chance for revenge,” as managing director sport Simon Rolfes put it. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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A bitter end to the fifth showdown of the 2025/26 VBL Club Championship as the #B04eSports team failed to take any points in the three remaining matches of the preliminary online round of the fifth and final showdown, missing out on the offline round. They can no longer take points in the overall table. Bayer 04 slipped out on the top eight, so direct participation in the final event for the German Club Championship is no longer possible, with Bayer 04 having to contest the play-offs.
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A rematch in Athens: On Wednesday, 18 February (kick-off: 21:00 CET), the Werkself face Greek double winners Olympiacos for the second time this season at the Karaiskakis Stadium. After the encounter in the league phase, it's now time for the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-offs. Ahead of the game, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about how his side will approach the clash, while captain Robert Andrich explained how the team will try to dampen the atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow.
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With the much-celebrated 2-1 derby win against 1. FC Köln, the Bayer 04 Women underlined their credentials as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Anyone wishing to support the Werkself in the stadium in the race for third place can now purchase tickets for the home match against FC Carl Zeiss Jena. Tickets are also still available for the upcoming clash against TSG Hoffenheim at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday, 22 February. The latest information at a glance.
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Let's give it our all one more time! Today, Tuesday 17 February (live on the VBL Twitch channel from 18:00 CET), the #B04eSports team play the remaining three preliminary round matches of the fifth and final showdown of the VBL Club Championship 2025/26. The Leverkusen console pros go up against 1. FC Nürnberg, 1. FC Magdeburg and Bayern Munich, aiming to secure their place in the offline knockout round and pick up valuable points for the overall table and the battle to get into the final event for the German Club Championship. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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