Bayer 04 have therefore decided, in the interests of health protection, that all the club's home games – including the women's and youth team fixtures – plus the first team training sessions will be held behind closed doors with immediate effect.
The City of Leverkusen issued an order banning all events for over 1,000 people on 12 March until further notice. Events with less than 1,000 people attending can take place under certain circumstances. The organiser must keep a list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers for each participant. In addition, visitors from areas categorised as risk areas by the Robert Koch Institute at the time of the event will not be able to attend.
Against this background and in the interests of health protection and the protection of everybody involved, Bayer 04 Leverkusen have decided to play all the club's home games behind closed doors until further notice. In addition to Werkself fixtures at the BayArena, that also applies to games for the women's team and the youth teams at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium and the Kurtekotten Academy. Furthermore, all the first-team training sessions will also be held behind closed doors with immediate effect.
Strengthening the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth teams: Konstantinos Kotsifakis will join the Werkself from Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin for the 2026/27 season, where he will be a permanent member of the Leverkusen U19 coaching set-up. The German-Greek will also take on an operational role in coaching the Bayer 04 Future Team. The 29-year-old was most recently head coach of the U17s at Hertha Berlin.
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Another award for the Bayer 04 head groundsman and staff: After coming top in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2024/25 seasons, the BayArena pitch came second in the Bundesliga Pitch of the Year ranking for the 2025/26 season. VfL Wolfsburg secured the top spot this year, with TSG Hoffenheim in third place.
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Opening opponents, derby weekends, the opponents in the season finale: This information and more will be available to Bayer 04 fans on Thursday, 2 July, when the 2026/27 Bundesliga fixture list is published.
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The next footballing highlight is just around the corner: the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 23rd edition of the tournament, will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico and feature 48 teams for the first time. Bayer04.de has all the latest on the Werkself players called up to represent their countries.
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While the majority of the Bayer 04 Women are enjoying their summer break, nine Werkself players will be on duty for their national teams in the coming days. Three of them are competing for a place at the World Cup, while six are involved in two friendlies with the Germany U23 team.
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