The ties in the eCup will – similarly to the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) – be played on a best-of-three basis. First up are two 1 vs 1 games. The Leverkusen eSports players Marc ‘MARC_LDW23’ Landwehr and Furkan ‘FURKY’ Kayacik will first individually meet an opponent from FC 08 Hassloch from the Rhineland Palatinate. If there is no overall winner from these two games then a third will be played as a 2 vs 2 to decide the winner. The winner in the first round proper will progress to the second round of the competition.
The games in the tie between FC 08 Hassloch in the first round proper of the DFB eCup will be streamed on the Bayer 04 Twitch channel as well as the Bayer 04 app.
The DFB eCup is a statewide virtual football competition run by the German Football Association (DFB). In addition to eSport professional players, amateur teams from Germany can also take part. The first round proper brings together the winners from the qualifying rounds and eSports players from the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL). The Bayer 04 eSports team ended the North West division of the VBL in seventh place.
Forthcoming fixture dates:
Second round: 26 April
Round of 16: 25 May
Quarter-finals: 16 June
Semi-finals and final: 17 June
The Bayer 04 women’s team secured a win in the friendly during the international break. Without a total of eight international players, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team defeated Bundesliga 2 side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 at the Kurtekotten Training Centre, thanks to goals from Lobke Loonen (1’, penalty), Caroline Kehrer (41') and Valentina Mädl (66').
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FSV Mainz 05 went into the international break on the back of an away win at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Currently sixth in the table, the Rheinhessen side – who have been impressive on the road – now aim to continue their good start to the Bundesliga campaign at home when they face the Werkself on Saturday, 10 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST). In terms of squad selection, Urs Fischer once again has more options at his disposal. Up front, the Mainz coach is likely to continue relying on what is currently the league’s most successful strike partnership. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Exciting experiences and exclusive insights into the Werkself and the BayArena awaited the young footballers from the BA04 Football Academy Guangzhou in China during their visit to the Rhineland this week. As well as taking part in a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy, the youngsters marvelled at the Bundesliga club’s stadium during a guided tour. The highlight of the visit was a private press conference with former Bayer 04 striker Stefan Kießling, during which he shared tips from his own career with the young players. On Saturday afternoon, 10 October, the group will round off their visit by supporting the Werkself in the away match in Mainz.
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During the first international break of the 2026/27 season, set to last just under three weeks, nine Bayer 04 first-team players are in action with their respective national teams. Read on for updates on matches featuring Werkself players…
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