“There are a lot of people at our club who show great commitment to our fans with disabilities. We will use it to say thank you to our assistants from the past 20 years and pay tribute to their work. We were not only pioneers in the Bundesliga; it’s much more important that commentary for the blind gives people the chance to fully enjoy the match experience,” said Fernando Carro, chairman of the board, who went on to thank the main sponsor of Bayer 04. “When we came up with the idea, along with Barmenia, of changing the shirt for the one time this season in support of this cause, the management were enthusiastic in giving their agreement.”
The special service, now standard at all Bundesliga stadiums and at the grounds in the second division plus for a lot of games in the third division and Regional Leagues, started with the 4-1 win for the Werkself against SSV Ulm 1846 on 15 October 1999. Since then, blind and visually-impaired fans have had the opportunity to follow Werkself games in a dedicated section of the South Stand at the BayArena. There are 20 permanent seats available. The fans are joined by two reporters for the blind who provide live match commentary. Visually-impaired supporters follow the commentary via headphones and are also able to take in the match atmosphere at the stadium.
“I take my hat off to the way our visually impaired fans are able to provide post-match analysis. You get the feeling they’ve made a mental image of all the incidents in the game,” said Andreas ‘Paffi’ Paffrath, the Bayer 04 fan and disability liaison officer. The club has invited all reporters for the blind over the last 20 years to the game against RB Leipzig. The AGM of ‘Die Sehhunde’ fan club is being held at the BayArena on Friday night and the members will be at the game on Saturday.
Overview of events on Saturday:
Background:
Bayer 04 were the trailblazers of match commentary for blind supporters in the Bundesliga – but the idea was not completely new. Kurt Vossen, the then, and now deceased, head of the football section at TSV Bayer 04, was inspired by a visit to the top Premier League club Manchester United who had already provided the service years before. After working with ‘Die Sehhunde’ fan club, with memberships from partially sighted and blind fans from across Germany, Vossen established the facilities for match commentary for the blind and the service was launched at the BayArena on 15 October 1999.
The section for the blind is almost always sold out. Tickets are available via the Bayer 04 hotline (+49 214/5000 1904).
Bayer 04 fan Gerhard Stoll has been a member of the ‘Sehhunde’ for many years and he reported on a special away trip to Berlin the Werkself Magazine in May 2017.
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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On Monday evening, 8 June, around 250 people came to the Bürgerhaus Baumberg at the invitation of Bayer 04 to find out details of the new plans for the campus on Alfred-Nobel-Straße at an information event. More compact, greener and with many advantages for Monheim am Rhein - those are the aims. There were lively discussions for around three hours and some misunderstandings were cleared up.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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When Malik Tillman arrived at Bayer 04 Leverkusen from PSV Eindhoven last summer, he did more than just add attacking midfield strength to the team — he reconnected the club with a unique and understated American lineage that stretches back more than three decades.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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