The pilots are planned for this season’s games in the Champions League, Europa League and the Conference League in Germany, England and France. Spanish and Italian clubs could have taken part in the test phase but the qualified teams do not have grounds with the appropriate areas. The finals are not included in this pilot scheme.
That means Bayer 04 Leverkusen will be able to plan on having full terraces in this season’s Champions League campaign. “We will immediately start all the required approval steps so we can receive final approval,” explained Fernando Carro as chairman of the board. “This decision by UEFA is a landmark for European football,” added Carro. “We will do everything we can at Leverkusen to make the pilot project a success so that the culture of standing can return to all the stadiums in Europe.”
In the 1990s, UEFA introduced the ban on standing for all games under the aegis of the association including in reaction to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 where 97 fans lost their lives.
Panagiotis, known as Panos, Retsos wore the Bayer 04 jersey for three years. Including his loan spells, he was under contract with the Werkself for a total of four and a half years. "It's a very special club for me," said the 27-year-old, who returned to his boyhood club Olympiacos in 2022, in an interview with bayer04.de. The former Leverkusen man is now captain and a first choice for the Werkself's next opponents in the UEFA Champions League. Ahead of the clash on Tuesday night, 20 January (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Retsos talks about his fond memories of his time in Leverkusen and the imminent reunion with some of his former team-mates. He also talks about who brought him to Leverkusen and why he likes getting older.
Show more
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
Show more
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without goalkeeper Mark Flekken and forward Nathan Tella for the time being.
Show more
After a week in the Algarve, the Bayer 04 Women returned home on Saturday afternoon. The Werkself had six training sessions, two friendlies and a lot of time together as a team. Roberto Pätzold's team will be back in action in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga next Friday for the start of matchday 15.
Show more
"We didn’t make the right decision at the right moments," said captain Robert Andrich after the 1-0 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim, where Bayer 04 endeavoured to control the game but failed to score. The Werkself also had two enforced substitutions due to injuries. Nevertheless, the coach, captain and debutant Janis Blaswich are positive about the coming weeks. The Werkself review.
Show more
