Thousands of cities and millions of people are taking part in the Earth Hour climate protection campaign organised by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2021. Bayer 04 are once again joining in on Saturday 27 March under the motto: Switch that light out! The BayArena will be in darkness from 20.30 to 21.30 CET as will the Ostermann Arena, the Water Tower and the Town Hall Gallery, to take a joint stand for climate and environmental protection.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a call to avoid people gathering at the named landmarks. People can take part in the campaign from home by switching off the lights in their own four walls at the appointed hour.
The campaign started on 31 March 2007 in Sydney. It is now the biggest climate and environmental protection campaign event in the world.
Top match time at the Ulrich Stadium. The Bayer 04 Women host Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night, 26 March. This will be a meeting of the teams fifth and seventh on matchday 16 in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga. The Werkself Women will be looking to at least maintain their eight-point lead over Frankfurt. Eurosport will broadcast the match live from Leverkusen with the kick-off at 19.15 CET.
Born in Ghana, Hans Sarpei grew up in Cologne from the age of two. He played for a number of clubs in Cologne in his youth and he finally made the step-up to professional football at the end of the 1990s at Fortuna Köln. Via MSV Duisburg and VfL Wolfsburg the left-back returned to the Rhineland in the summer of 2007 – under the Bayer Cross to be exact. Sarpei spent three years at the Werkself, making 42 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds.
At the end of his playing career in 2012, the former Leverkusen player moved into the TV business with his own coaching broadcast on SPORT1 and he won one series of the dance show ‘Let’s Dance’. The 44-year-old has started a new project and is now a book author. Sarpei has written a cookbook with the title ‘Hans Sarpei’s Football Cuisine’. This is aimed at ambitious youth footballers. Sarpei says: “We want to show the connection between nutrition and performance.”
There are a few birthday greetings on this Friday: Schahriar Bigdeli, Werkself fitness coach, is 41. The four-time German champion in long jump started working for Bayer 04 in 2006 and he works closely with the head coach and his staff in looking after the fitness levels of the Werkself players.
Another birthday boy works for the Werkself: Falko Götz, who was a key player for Bayer 04 in the 1980s and a UEFA Cup winner in 1988 with the Black and Reds, is now part of the sporting management. Götz is 59 on this Friday.
The third in the group is Mike Rietpietsch, now 47 years old. Born in Eberswalde, the midfielder joined the Werkself from Union Berlin at the age of 20 in 1994. He stayed for three seasons and played 22 Bundesliga games during that time. His career took him to Fortuna Düsseldorf, VfL Bochum and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Bayer 04 wish the trio: Many happy returns!
A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Bayer 04 U19s have extended their winning run with a fifth consecutive victory on Matchday 5 of the DFB Youth League’s preliminary round. Coach Patrick Greveraars’ side secured a 3–2 (2–1) win in their match against second-placed FC Viktoria Köln, with Burak Kir and Nebe Domnic scoring for the hosts in the first half before captain Ben Hawighorst found the net after the break.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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