
"We are very happy to again win the award after 2019/20 and 2020/21," said Linda Schöttler, general manager of the Bayer 04 Women's team. "That again shows the outstanding work of our grounds staff. Particularly as the Ulrich Haberland Stadium is used by several teams." The Werkself regularly complete their final pre-match training sessions here. And the U19 and U17 teams also play their home games at the UHS.
The awards are based on a pitch management tool of the DFB where the quality of the pitch is rated according to a ten-point system from 1-2 (very bad) through to 9-10 (excellent) after every game by the team managers of the home and away clubs as well as the referee involved. At the end of the season, the individual assessments produce an overall table.
The pitch at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium has a hybrid surface with a especially hard wearing natural grass playing surface strengthened with artificial fibres.
"The Pitch of the Year is an award for all our ground staff team," said Gail Schmitz, head groundsman at Bayer 04 who was responsible for an impressive team with 14 members of staff. "Everybody here makes their contribution to offer our Women's team players, our first team and the U19 and U17 youth sides a high quality playing surface. Both in the summer and the winter. We are very happy with the third title in succession. And the fact we were again able to come out on top against strong competition makes us a little bit proud."

Will Bayer 04 emulate their away wins at Benfica and Manchester City? Newcastle United are the visitors at a sold-out BayArena on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET/live on Werkself Radio) to round off the UEFA Champions League games for the year. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke in advance about the momentum in Europe's premier club competition and gave an encouraging personnel update. Jarell Quansah also spoke about his experiences playing against Nick Woltemade and his wish for the Bayer 04 fans.
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Newcastle United have amassed nine points after five matchdays, one more in the UEFA Champions League than the Werkself. The Magpies are also steadily improving in the Premier League, where they're currently unbeaten in four games. On Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 21:00 CET), Eddie Howe's side will be the visitors at the BayArena. He's also likely to field two Germany internationals in the game. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The situation ahead of the showdown is clear - and promising. The Bayer 04 U19s host Newcastle United on the sixth and final matchday of the 2025/26 UEFA Youth League phase. A win at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium would see the Werkself go through to the knockout stages of the competition for the first time. Ahead of the clash on Wednesday, 10 December (kick-off: 14:00 CET/livestream on bayer04.de and in the Bayer 04 app), coach Kevin Brok spoke about the successful build-up, his assessment of the match and the danger of underestimating the already eliminated English side.
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The Werkself will host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 10 January, at 18:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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The Werkself will host Werder Bremen at the BayArena on matchday 19 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The game is on Saturday, 24 January, at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
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