Bayer 04 stands for diversity, inclusion and integration and on the Holocaust Memorial Day as with any other day is clearly against every form of violence, extremism, racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination.
With the Day of remembrance in German football, DFB, state associations, professional and amateur clubs remember the victims of National Socialism. The day of remembrance was introduced by the 'Nie Wieder' (Never again) campaign to carry the message from the survivors of the former concentration camp at Dachau into the present and future.
On this day of remembrance, the German Football Museum in Dortmund has published an online biographical dictionary of persecuted Jewish football players, which Werkself legend Rüdiger Vollborn helped to compile. "Never forget!" has been created in cooperation with the network of German football museums and club archives and contains over 200 life stories and destinies. The digital collection can be accessed HERE free of charge.
At the Africa Cup of Nations, the Ivory Coast lost 5-4 on penalties in the Round of 16 against Egypt including Liverpool star Mo Salah and are now out of the competition. Werkself defender Odilon Kossounou did not feature.
Burkina Faso, with Bayer 04 player Edmond Tapsoba, are already through to the quarter-finals at AFCON with the next match on Sunday evening. Tapsoba and Co. went through with a 7-6 win on penalties against Gabon. The Black and Red number 12 played the full 90 minutes and also converted his penalty in style. They face Tunisia in the quarter-finals with the FC Köln player Ellyes Skhiri in their ranks. The kick-off on Saturday 29 January is at 20.00 CET. It will be broadcast live by the streaming service DAZN.
Bayer 04 congratulates Martin Kree on his 57th birthday. The former Werkself player wore the Black and Red shirt from 1989 to 1994. The central defender made 189 appearances, scored 27 goals and won the DFB Cup in 1993. The left-footer joined Borussia Dortmund for the 1994/95 season where he went on to win the Champions League and the World Club title three years later. Many happy returns.
Newly promoted SV 07 Elversberg will begin the 2026/27 season as Bundesliga club number 59. The Saarland club start their first Bundesliga campaign at home to the Werkself on Saturday, 29 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) at the URSAPHARM Arena on Kaiserlinde, which is currently being rebuilt. For one Leverkusen player in the ‘Elv’ line-up, the clash will be a special reunion. The lowdown on our next opponents.
Show more
The fixture details for the Bayer 04 Women’s first match in the 2026/27 DFB Pokal has been confirmed: As announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday morning, the Leverkusen Women will face second-tier side FC Viktoria Berlin in the first round on Sunday 27 September at 14:00 CEST.
Show more
Once again, well over 100 Werkself fans were delighted to receive an invitation from the club’s record appearance-maker, Rüdiger Vollborn, to the sold-out Schwadbud at the BayArena. This time, the supporters listened as the club historian provided fascinating, exclusive insights into the period from Bayer 04 being founded in 1904 to the club’s promotion to the Bundesliga in 1979. A journey through time is also planned for the upcoming ‘Rudi lädt ein’ event in early November – this time focusing on the years of the Nazi regime.
Show more
Getting in the mood for the new season together, exchanging ideas and looking ahead to the coming months: Bayer 04 welcomed partners to the BayArena for the annual sponsors season-launch event. In a relaxed atmosphere, the management, head coach and players came together with representatives from partner companies to celebrate the start of the 2026/27 season.
Show more
