There is more live Black and Red football at the weekend from now on. The Bayer 04 Women’s Bundesliga game against MSV Duisburg on Sunday 21 March will be shown live on the Bayer 04 YouTube channel. And there is more good news: A large number of this season’s remaining games for the team led by coach Achim Feifel will be broadcast live. That means fans, who are unable to attend games due to the coronavirus pandemic, can watch Werkself Women’s games at home – and free of charge.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, the German Football Association (DFB) have initiated this campaign and the Bayer 04 Bundesliga Women have joined in (see photo above). The aim of the campaign is to raise the profile of girl’s and women’s football and lay down a marker for equal treatment in this sport. The DFB now has over 1.1 million female members. That means: Every seventh member is female and they represent an important part of the association. Using their social networks, the DFB has encouraged people to join in with the campaign where women, girls and all football fans in Germany show their support for sport on equal terms via their social media channels using the hashtag #Jede7te.
“I’m proud of the players. We didn’t play like a team low on confidence or with fear,” said head coach Peter Bosz after the 1-0 win at Mönchengladbach, the first victory after three league games in succession without a win. The Dutchman was also included in the Bild am Sonntag team of the matchday for his approach to the game and tactical guidance alongside his players Jonathan Tah and Lennart Grill. It was the first nomination for the keeper in only his second game for Bayer 04.
Kicker also included Tah in their team. It is the second time the Germany international has been nominated by the sports journal this season. And our number four was also named in the ARD team of the matchday.
Looking back to the season run-in of 2019/20: Bayer 04 were at home to Rangers on 6 August 2020 in the second leg of the Round of 32 tie in the Europa League. The top Scottish club lost 3-1 in the first leg and 1-0 at the empty BayArena in the return leg and were knocked out of the competition. The team under coach Steven Gerrard have been impressive this season.
Since the match in Leverkusen, the Scots have only lost one game – a 3-2 defeat in the League Cup quarter-final against St. Mirren in the middle of December. None in the league, none in the Europa League. So it is no surprise that Rangers have recently won the 55th league title in the club’s history with six games to play. The lead of 20 points cannot be made up with six games to go. Ranger’s goal difference of 77 for and 9 against is equally remarkable as is the record of 28 wins from 32 league games. Bayer 04 pass on congratulations for this deserved triumph.
Last year’s Europa League opponents for the Werkself were demoted from the Scottish Premiership to the fourth division after insolvency in 2012. Since then, the arch rivals Celtic, until recently including Jeremie Frimpong, have won the Scottish league title nine times in succession – up to this year.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) have agreed a new handball rule. As recently announced by IFAB, from 1 July, an accidental handball that leads to a goal or goalscoring opportunity for a teammate will not be treated as an infringement. A handball by the goalscorer will still be penalised.
In future, not every contact of the ball with a hand or arm will automatically be an infringement. Accordingly, handball will only given if the player intentionally plays the ball with his arm or hand or spreads his frame “unnaturally”. The decision will be made by the referee.
The rule changes from 2019, which were intended to give match officials more objective criteria, have been the subject of intense debate since they were introduced. There has been increasing criticism since then.
Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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Nathan Tella has extended his contract with Bayer 04 to 2031. In an interview with Werkself TV, the 26-year-old talks about fulfilling his dreams, his positive outlook on life and his goals for the future. He answers the questions in English - all except the last one, which he addresses directly to the fans...
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In the final international break in the current 2025/26 campaign, Bayer 04 striker Patrik Schick with Czechia will be battling for a place at the World Cup. Meanwhile, national teams that have already qualified, include other Werkself players called up, are involved in friendlies in the build-up to the World Cup. Read on for an overview of the Leverkusen internationals and their match dates.
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The Werkself kicked off the final international break of the current season on Monday morning with the first of three open training sessions this week. While eleven Bayer 04 players will be away on international duty in the coming days, the other players will be working together in Leverkusen. The next challenge in the Bundesliga awaits on Saturday, 4 April (kick-off: 15:30 CEST) with the home game against VfL Wolfsburg.
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