Hygiene rules, social distancing, recommended behaviour – Dr. Karl-Heinrich Dittmar, medical director and also pandemics officer at Bayer 04, and his team have taken measures to prevent the Werkself contracting coronavirus. Training is held in groups at different times and in different locations at the training ground – the sessions are being held both at the BayArena and the Ulrich Haberland Stadium as well as on the speed court, in the Werkstatt and on the training pitches. That makes it possible to maintain social distancing.
Before the start of all the training sessions, everybody has to have their temperatures taken. Five devices were sourced for the BayArena and the Bayer 04 to check the temperatures of every player, coach and member of staff. Leon Bailey shows how it’s done: Just stand in front of the camera; within seconds the temperature is read from the forehead. The device sounds a warning with a raised temperature . Training can start if there’s a green light. After the first hurdle, there are hand sanitisers located at various points across the Bay Arena.
Instead of the usual route to the dressing rooms, Kerem Demirbay and Co. now use the Mixed Zone. The distribution of kit has been moved there temporarily. The area is more spacious than the dressing rooms and that avoids any problems with collecting or returning training kit and boots.
The Werkself players get changed in different areas. In addition to the home dressing room, the away changing room and facilities for youth teams and conference rooms are also used. That guarantees the maintenance of social distancing from each other before and after the sessions. Showers after training sessions are not permitted at the BayArena at the moment.
Communal meals in the morning and at lunchtime are also off the agenda. It’s not sociable but nobody is left hungry – there is breakfast and lunch but individually packed to take away. Drinks are provided as is fruit and the dish of the day. The players can serve themselves in turn.
For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 1-0 win in rearranged match at Hamburger SV on Matchday 17 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time since February 2018 in their rearranged Bundesliga Matchday 17 clash. After long years in the second division, the Red Shorts have gradually reestablished themselves in the top flight this season, thanks in particular to their strong home record and third-best tackle success rate in the league. There'll be a fierce battle in the air too, as three of the highest-scoring centre-backs in the Bundesliga could be on the pitch at the Volksparkstadion - two of them for Leverkusen. The Matchday News.
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Video games manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA), together with the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), has announced the six nominees for the February 2026 Bundesliga Player of the Month award. Not one, but two Werkself players are on the list in Edmond Tapsoba and Alejandro Grimaldo. Supporters of the Black-and-Reds have from now until midnight on Sunday 8 March to vote!
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