"Kumho Tyre has been a global player in tyre production for many years and, with their ambitious targets, perfectly suited to an internationally ambitious club like Bayer 04. We are very much looking forward to this exciting and multifaceted partnership," said Fernando Carro, chairman of the board at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who at this point would like to thank the Werkself marketing partner Lagardère Sports for their support in bringing about this business.
Jun Ro Song (pictured left), managing director of Kumho Tyre Europe GmbH, explained the reasons for the link-up: "We are happy to enter this new partnership with Bayer 04 Leverkusen as the club stands for reliability, ambition and international prestige. Those are decisive criteria for our partnerships in sport. Following our sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League, we are now happy to have found another top European club in Bayer 04 Leverkusen. We hope to significantly increase our brand recognition with the help of this partnership."
As an official Premium Partner, Kumho Tyres will have a comprehensive presence on the digital hoardings along the whole side of the pitch over the course of their two-year contract. In addition, two Kumho branded 3D-cam carpets will be visible at the BayArena in the TV-relevant area, and from the new season the digital scoreboard will also bear the Kumho Tyre logo. The sponsorship package also includes premium hospitality allocations and a comprehensive, international incorporation into club media activities (website, social media etc).
Info on Kumho Tyre:
The Kumho Tyre Company with its headquarters in Seoul was founded in 1960 and is now one of the leading tyre manufacturers worldwide with 60 million tyres sold and an annual turnover of over €2 billion. Over 10,000 employees worldwide develop, produce and sell Kumho tyres for cars, vans and trucks. As a global player, Kumho has production facilities in Korea, Vietnam, China and the USA. In addition, Kumho has research and development centres in Korea, China, Europe and North America. In the summer of 2018 the Chinese manufacturer Doublestar Tire, one of the biggest tyre manufacturers in China, took up 45% of the shares in Kumho Tyre and is now the most important and biggest shareholder at Kumho. All tyres for the European market are developed in the European development centre in Mörfelden-Walldorf, near Frankfurt am Main.
Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
Show more
Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
Show more
Bayer 04 start the 2026/27 season away to third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ahead of the DFB Pokal tie on Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez spoke at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. The topics: anticipation, passion, the fans’ support – and the captaincy for the new season.
Show more
After 62 days of preparation, the time has finally come: the Werkself kick off the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season on Sunday (16:00 CEST) with an away match at RB Leipzig. Following a major shake-up over the summer, with eleven players leaving and twelve new signings, initial impressions from the past few weeks have given manager Roberto Pätzold great cause for optimism.
Show more
SV Wehen Wiesbaden undoubtedly envisaged a different start to the new season. After two matchdays, the Hessen side currently sit bottom of the Liga 3 table. On Saturday 22 August (kick-off: 13:00 CEST), SVWW host the Werkself in the first round of the DFB Pokal at their home ground, the BRITA Arena. It was there, in this very competition a year ago, that the club almost pulled off a massive upset. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
